Staff Predictions for the Chicago Blackhawks 2021-22 season

Who will be the standout player of the season?

Jeremy Riback: Henrik Borgstrom. Borgstrom has been a huge surprise throughout training camp and preseason and I think he carries that over this season. He played a lot with Dylan Strome and Kirby Dach, so we will have to see where he falls in the lineup, but i think he will make a huge impact on the team this season.

Justin Klawans: I really hope that Marc-Andre Fleury is able to make an immediate impact with the Blackhawks. He’s had a good preseason so far, and his amazing glove stop against the Red Wings shows that he hasn’t lost his elite form. I would expect the Vezina Trophy winner to make headlines once again.

Seth Stauffer: Connor Murphy. While all eyes will likely be on the big-name additions to the roster, I think Murphy’s role with the team will be different this year. Previously, he’d been played as if he were a number one defenseman when in reality he’s much more defensively oriented. With the addition of Seth Jones, it takes some pressure off of Murphy to produce offensively, and he’ll be able to focus more on making life difficult for opponents in the defensive zone. If Chicago is going to have success this year, they’re going to need him to be an absolute rock defensively.

Jimmy Lynch: I am going to say Seth Jones is the standout player of the year. Jones hasn’t had the best training camp, but the first game of the season is when things really matter. Hopefully he can show up and be a face of the franchise like the team needs.