Blackhawks out to silence the doubters after latest power rankings

The Chicago Blackhawks rank 30th in the latest NHL Power Rankings by Bleacher Report, which went public on August 31. Despite finishing with the second-worst record in the league last year, the Original Six franchise had a productive summer, bringing in Bowen Byram, convincing legend Patrick Kane to come home, and extending Connor Bedard.

Surely, those three moves would have earned a higher ranking, but apparently not.

Other NHL teams had rough offseasons compared to Chicago

At the bottom of the Bleacher Report rankings are the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, who are so deep into the rebuild that both organizations have great chances to land the first overall pick at the 2027 NHL Draft. Meanwhile, the Seattle Kraken, who lost out on a chance to sign Jason Robertson, ranked ahead of the Blackhawks at No. 29, one spot behind the Winnipeg Jets at No. 28.

One reason for the Jets' downfall is that news broke last week that former Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck publicly requested a trade, months after asking for one privately. Now, it's a matter of when, not if, the Olympic gold medalist gets moved; when he does, the Jets will be in rough shape and could tumble to the bottom of the Central Division.

In the end, Hellebuyck leaving helps the Blackhawks significantly in the standings, since they could finally start reversing their recent misfortunes against their northern rival.

Yet, it goes without saying that neither the Kraken nor the Jets did anything substantial this summer, which makes ranking the Blackhawks No. 30 a little insulting to the progress general manager Kyle Davidson has made. Even though Chicago is predicted to be without Bedard for about a month following shoulder surgery, that's no reason to hit the panic button, especially with Kane back in the lineup to mentor many of the lineup's younger stars like Anton Frondell and Frank Nazar.

Latest Bleacher Report rankings can motivate Blackhawks

Heading into the 2026-27 season, most fans and writers outside of Chicago have already written off the Blackhawks, chalking up next season to just another year of the rebuild. Of course, the team won't magically contend for the Presidents' Trophy or even win the Stanley Cup, but with so little faith in what the kids can do, it's time for them to take a gigantic step forward and prove the doubters wrong.

Ultimately, Kane didn't come back to Chicago to play out his days gliding around the ice looking up at the banners he helped raise to the roof of the United Center. Instead, he could be the spark plug to ignite the youngsters to reach their potential.

This year's Blackhawks team can win important games and finish higher than 31st in the standings and avoid being tapped as the 30th-ranked team in a power rankings list. Eventually, Bedard will break out, and before anyone knows it, Chicago will be playing critical games and back in the postseason.

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