3 announcements it would be great for the Chicago Blackhawks to make

The Chicago Blackhawks hope to raise the standards next season. They have the draft capital and a ton of cap space to do this offseason.

This will be a busy offseason for the Hawks' front office as general manager Kyle Davidson needs to bring in better talent to put around Connor Bedard.

The offense needs to be upgraded after finishing dead last in the NHL in goals for average per game. The Blackhawks also have the second-best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery.

While it will be a busy offseason, it would be nice to see the Blackhawks make these three announcements...

Nick Foligno is named captain.

The Hawks skated without a captain this season after the team parted with longtime official leader Jonathan Toews.

The veteran Foligno stepped up and became the unofficial captain of the group.

He was the perfect mentor for Connor Bedard. They had a figurative father-son relationship on the ice that was fun to watch.

The speculation is that the Hawks did not have anyone wear the "C" this year because it will eventually go to Bedard. It makes sense that Connor should be the captain, but not at this point. Foligno was extended during the season for two more seasons partly because of his leadership. It would be ideal to have Foligno become the official captain while Bedard continues to sharpen his skills to become an even more elite player.

Also, it would allow Bedard to ease into something at the NHL level. The young man has been thrust into the spotlight the moment the Hawks won the No. 1 overall pick. It would be nice if Bedard did not get another added responsibility so quickly. Plus, Foligno has been a captain before with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The all-black uniforms return.

Blackhawks management did say those beautiful alternates will be returning soon.

The when part of these sweaters return should be this upcoming season since Fanatics is taking over as the official outfitter of the league.

Also, wearing the white sweaters at home now and again would be a nice touch. The red sweaters would be a good idea to wear on the road against the Original Six teams too. Let's bring the black alternates and keep them in a permanent rotation.

Steve Larmer's No. 28 getting retired.

Chris Chelios' No. 7 was raised to the United Center rafters this season. It took the organization almost 25 years to finally recognize one of the great players of the 1990s. That has been an overlooked era of Hawks hockey in that the team did not win a Stanley Cup despite getting close and the franchise declined into irrelevancy by the end of it.

There are players from that era who deserve to have their number retired. The most deserving is Larmer.

However, an even bigger injustice is Larmer is still not in the Hall of Fame.

Larmer was never the flashiest player. All he did was show up, score goals, and help the Hawks win. He does not have a ton of accolades, he won the Calder Trophy and went to two All-Star Games, but he was always on the ice and produced at a high level during a successful time in Hawks history.