How the Olympic break could benefit the Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks have a chill schedule during February as the 2026 Winter Olympics take place in Milan, giving the club a three-week break. Based on the way things had been trending for Chicago, this stretch could not have arrived at a better time.

The Blackhawks have struggled of late, with just one win in their last seven games, which came against Macklin Celebrini's San Jose Sharks this past Monday. The team has dropped to a 22-26-9 record and find themselves 10 points out of a playoff spot with 25 games left in the campaign.

This break from action should benefit the Blackhawks, as it will allow the team to undergo a much-needed mental/physical reset after a period of on-ice struggles.

How the Olympic break can play into the Blackhawks hands

The most obvious reason this break should help is that it stops the immediate bleeding. This 2026 portion of the season has not gone to plan thus far for the Blackhawks, with the team taking just four wins since Connor Bedard returned from injury on Jan. 9. The play on the ice the past few weeks has been uninspiring to say the least, with many of the players visibly appearing checked out and ready for a vacation in Cancun.

With the Blackhawks' next game not coming until Feb. 26 at Nashville, the team will have 21 days to rest in the meantime. That time should be valuable for guys to evaluate where their games are at and what they need to work on during the rest of the campaign, especially for the youth who lack the experience (cough cough Arty Levshunov).

The Blackhawks have only one player participating in the Olympics: Teuvo Teravainen for Team Finland. This is the same case as last season, when Teravainen was once again the only Blackhawk to participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

With Teravainen being the exception, the rest of the Blackhawks should be absolutely refreshed when the NHL returns to action later this month. Many teams will have several players participating in the games, meaning most clubs will not be as energized and ready to go as Chicago will be upon return.

One player who you would expect to come out of the break guns blazing is Bedard. While his game has not quite been on the same level as it was early on in the season since his comeback, he was starting to get hot again with goals in three of his last four games before the pause. He should be plenty motivated to end the year strong and prove Team Canada wrong after being snubbed of a spot on the Olympic roster.

And while the games may provide a break for the Blackhawks' regulars, the prospects will still have a chance to get much-needed minutes over the next month. Sam Rinzel was sent down to Rockford for this reason; the extra time to refine his game in the minors should continue to work wonders for him. Nick Lardis and Kevin Korchinski will be ones to watch, as both will be representing the IceHogs in the AHL All-Star Classic.

The break should also benefit Kyle Davidson and Blackhawks management, as the Olympic roster freeze gives them time to outline their plan of attack for the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, which arrives soon after teams return to play on March 6th. Based on where Chicago finds itself in the standings, it is reasonable to anticipate the club will be in sell mode, shipping out vets and making way for the next wave of prospects on queue for the later portion of the season.

Overall, expect teams with heavy Olympic participation to struggle at first coming out of the gate, as players will be recovering from what should be a grueling period of play in Italy. We'll see if that is something this young Blackhawks team can take advantage of down the line.