Blackhawks' focus remains the same despite freefall to NHL basement

The Chicago Blackhawks' fast start brought some hope to the fanbase, but it seems the "patient approach" from Kyle Davidson and staff hasn't changed. The following two seasons are meant to be a "let's see how it goes" type of run, despite a decent amount of time in the wildcard position. The team is currently finding ways to win without a high-powered offense, which would make things slower, given a new system being taught. Connor Bedard displayed his huge steps forward in the right direction, proving he is, in fact, a generational talent. Perhaps I'll do a piece on this later.

Things are more complicated than they seem.

Now, the "let's see how things play out" plan is working as intended, and with the youth on the team, a slump wasn't unexpected. Now, the extent of how bad it has been is the concerning part. The team has most of the top forward prospects with the big club right now, but none of them, Nick Lardis or Oliver Moore, are looking to be difference makers this season. I don't expect them to be good right off the bat, but I was hoping that they would show glimpses of top-six forwards, pieces around the cornerstone to bring the Blackhawks back to relevance. Frank Nazar showed that he is 2C for the future, until he hit a slump, then had to get done in from a shot to the face.

The defense...

The defense is where it really gets interesting. The Blackhawks have been lauded for having one of the best defensive pipelines in the league. The understanding is that this core will be a problem to deal with in the coming years, and they have had moments where we can see the potential. However, they need more time to settle into the league, which takes much longer (generally) than forwards. Duncan Keith hit his stride when he turned 24 (Alex Vlasic's age), same with Brent Seabrook. Artyom Levshunov is only 20, Sam Rinzel is 21, and Kevin Korchinski is 22. We will need to wait a couple of years until we see these guys really take off.

Some positives

Spencer Knight is everything the Blackhawks expected him to be and more. Despite having a losing record (10-10-5), he maintains a 2.55 goals-against average (GAA) and a .914 save percentage (SV%), which are excellent numbers for a 24-year-old goalie. Despite losing the last two games he played, he kept a save percentage above .910. Generally, I believe if a goalie can keep the opposition at or under two goals, the team should win the game. Sadly, Knight has been doing his part, but the forwards aren't doing theirs.

The "let's see how this goes" seasons to come will likely look alike; however, I was hoping the team as a whole would be good enough to avoid the NHL basement this year. Turns out I was wrong, and there is a lot of work to be done by the coaching staff and the front office. They should be a well-rounded team in the years to come, not relying on one guy for all their offence.