3 reasons why it is okay the Blackhawks are letting Arvid Soderblom overcome his struggles in the NHL

While it is hard to watch, allowing Soderblom the opportunity to get right in the NHL is the right thing to do for a couple of reasons...

There is no better alternative.

The Hawks could have claimed Antti Raanta to fill the backup goalie spot, but he was playing worse than Soderblom. Jaxson Stauber had a cup of coffee with the Chicago Blackhawks last season. He had a 5-1 record but the offense provided him a lot of goals. The offense has not been spotting Arvid a lot of leads to work with.

Stauber has a 3.41 GAA with a .890 save percentage in 13 games with Rockford this season. Maybe, Stauber could produce better, but it is not like he is a wall in goal either.

Drew Commesso is benefitting from Soderblom's struggles as it looks like Commesso is now the organization's future No. 1 goalie. He is nowhere near ready to play in the NHL. He is doing well in his first full season in Rockford, but goalies need at least a season and a half before they are truly ready for even a spot start.

This is not like the blue line where the Chicago Blackhawks have some other prospect options to work with. Wyatt Kaiser got sent down because the Hawks had Isaak Phillips waiting in the wings. This is not the case at goalie.

Thankfully, Petr Mrazek is playing well as the top netminder and has avoided the IR. Soderblom's problems have the possibility of trading him at the deadline in doubt.

It is not like Soderblom is going to get extra work in Rockford.

You probably do not want Soderblom eating into Commesso's playing time. Right now Stauber and Commesso are splitting the starts. Drew has 14 while Jaxson has 13. That plan should not be deviated from so Soderblom can work out whatever problems he is having.

This is a backup goalie we are talking about right now. Maybe Arvid can get right, but every day he looks more and more like a career backup. You do not want him throwing off any development time for the next No. 1 goalie prospect just because Soderblom failed to be the current one.

It is a lost season anyway, so let him help improve the NHL Draft Lottery odds.

Injuries have decimated a roster that was not going to make the playoffs to begin with. Injuries especially ravaged the blue line where at one point the Hawks were rolling out half of the IceHogs' defensemen group.

Although, the blue line got some reinforcements against St. Louis and Soderblom unraveled in the final period. A rebuilding team is going to have youth on the blue line and the Hawks are no exception. It also means rookie mistakes and that is going to make it tough for any netminder.

A rebuild also means lost seasons and that is what the Chicago Blackhawks are going through. This team was not going to contend for a playoff spot even if it was fully healthy. Having Connor Bedard provided hope things would be better this season, but there are just too many roster holes that Bedard's presence cannot spackle over.

It is ugly to watch Soderblom in goal, but the silver lining is his wretched starts have helped the Hawks' lottery odds. The hope was we would not have to monitor Tankathon.com every day, but the reality is this franchise needs another two drafts before we can finally start thinking about the playoffs. Why not maximize this rebuild with another tank season?

The only disappointing part when it comes to Soderblom was it would have been nice to have a long-term answer at the top goaltender, especially with Mrazek set to be a free agent after the season

Plus, it does not mean Soderblom cannot turn it around and be the long-term solution in goal, although it keeps getting tougher to watch him try.