5 Storylines To Follow During the Second Half of the Season for the Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are sitting dead last in the NHL standings at the All-Star break. On the bright side, that means the Hawks currently have the best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. The winning prize is the right to draft Macklin Celebrini, who is considered another generational talent.

A lot can happen between now and the final game of the season that will alter the Hawks' position in the Tankathon.com standings.

The team's lottery odds are one of five storylines that are worth following over the rest of the season.

How bad do the rest of the contenders for the best NHL Draft Lottery chances get at the trade deadline?

Remember the panic everyone had last season when the Hawks won games before the deadline? A majority of the fans acted like every victory ruined any hope of drafting Connor Bedard. Then general manager Kyle Davidson held a fire sale at the NHL trade deadline and the Blackhawks won five games the rest of the season.

Davidson does not have a lot of players to trade this season to ensure a second half where the Chicago Blackhawks barely win. The team has a ton of injuries and that is why the franchise is at the bottom of the standings.

Getting healthy combined with the other franchises getting worse at the deadline will have an impact on the Hawks' final lottery odds.

The San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Columbus Blue Jackets all have players that will be sought after before the deadline. Once they finish trading off their assets, those three teams might just reach a level of bad that will out do the Hawks' level of terrible.

Connor Bedard's return from injured reserve and the impact it will have on the offense.

Bedard has been out since January 5th with a fractured jaw. He provided an update on his return at the All-Star Game.

The return timetable appears to be the same six to eight weeks as it was projected when he had surgery. It sounds like a return in February is unlikely. That means a March return.

It also means the Chicago Blackhawks offense will continue to struggle. The Hawks have been shut out in four of the 11 games they have played without Bedard. They also have four games during that span where they have scored one goal in regulation or overtime.

It is not like the Blackhawks are not shooting the puck. They just do not have a load of talented skill players to find the back of the net with Bedard on IR. Now the scoring drought is getting into the team's heads.

Jason Dickinson has been the only threat to score on a nightly basis. Otherwise, finding offense has been laborious. The only positive with Bedard out is everyone has stopped standing around watching Bedard try to make amazing things happen.

Once he returns, the hope is the effort everyone is playing with, along with Connor's amazing skills starts to produce more scoring.

Taylor Raddysh, Lukas Reichel, and Arvid Soderblom trying to finish the season strong.

Raddysh's and Reichel's offensive struggles are a contributing factor to the Hawks not producing much offense. They have a combined 19 points (Raddysh has 10 while Reichel has nine) and eight goals (Raddysh with five of them) this season.

Raddysh has missed some time with an injury, but he has not played anywhere near the level we saw last season when he racked up 37 points. Reichel is one of the Blackhawks' most gifted offensive players, but his confidence has been shot with the rough way his first NHL season is going.

If both of them can rebound in the second half, it will help the offense. It will also help their future standing with the team. Both are set for restricted free agency. Reichel is 21 so his age and potential, however diminished it feels like right now, should get him another contract. He is costing himself money and years on that deal right now.

Raddysh will be 26 next season so he is still young enough for the Hawks to consider him as a long-term piece. With this production and all the prospects the Hawks have, if he continues to play like this, he is likely to be non-tendered.

Soderblom is another young player disappointing in his first full NHL season. The hope by now is he would have a firm grasp on the No. 1 goaltender spot. Instead, he is one of the worst goalies in the NHL. He has been so bad that the Blackhawks have extend Petr Mrazek to a bridge-deal until Drew Commesso is ready.

That does not mean the clock has run out on Soderblom's hopes to be the long-term starting netminder for the Hawks. If he plays like he has the rest of the year, it will solidify him as nothing more than a backup goalie, or worse, a player the team loans out to a European club next season.