Are the Blackhawks better or worse than last season?

Ask yourself the question are the Chicago Blackhawks better or worse than they were last season?

There are a lot of different pieces to look at, and honestly, there is no wrong answer, so let’s jump in and discuss.

When I first asked myself the question, my gut reaction was yes, are you kidding? This team actually has been in the playoff discussion all season despite being without stars like Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach throughout most of the season. They are winning games without Corey Crawford anymore, and their team has added so many different young players into the lineup.

However, the more and more I thought about it, those pros were only helping me make a case for why they will be good in a few seasons, not right now. If we had this season’s lineup facing off against last year’s lineup, I think it would be a pretty good competition.

Last year’s leaders:

Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Dominik Kubalik

Toews had his best season in a long time, putting up 60 points in 70 games. Kubalik was lights out, scoring 30 goals and doing most of that during the final few months of the season, and Patrick Kane was still being himself leading the team in points.

This season’s leaders:

Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik

Kubalik and Kane are still themselves, and I would argue Kane is even better than last season. The biggest plus to this season over last year has to be Alex DeBrincat, who is having a bounce-back year after only putting up 45 points in 2019-20.

Now the stage is set, let’s make the case for both seasons and then decide.