Chicago Blackhawks 2024-2025 Season Predictions

Let's be honest, making predictions is so much fun!

They may be wildly optimistic, they may be based on personal hope rather than reason, and they may even be laughable by the time the season concludes but isn't that the joy of it all? I love to write down several predictions in stone at the start of every season and then by the end, return to my predictions and see just how wrong (or right, more likely) I was.

I'm going to give five bold predictions today that I will return to at the season's end, and I encourage each of you to do the same! If you have a notebook or even just the notes tab on your phone, make some predictions of your own and let me know in the comments of this article what you are thinking!

I am curious to hear other Hawks fans put themselves out there. So, without further ado, let's get predicting.

Prediction One: The Blackhawks Will Not Finish Last in the Central Division Standings

Perhaps some of you don't see this as a bold prediction but unfortunately, finishing last is still a very likely possibility given the talent of the teams in the Central Division.

In a separate article, I am going to give my prediction for the full NHL standings, so I won't spoil too much here. However, if you look through the Central Division, it is daunting, to say the least. However, I firmly believe that this team, with the additions that they made in the summer, will finally begin the long climb from the depths of the NHL basement back to relevancy and glory.

It is also worth noting that there are surprisingly "bad teams" every season, that is, teams we expect to be competent and instead struggle tremendously. So if one of those teams is in the Central Division, then the Hawks have a prime opportunity to jump ahead of them.

I won't spoil exactly how I see the Division standings looking yet (again, read my future article where I break that down in detail), but I no longer see the Hawks as the worst team in their division.

Prediction Three: This season's "Fan Favorite" Hawk will be Alec Martinez

This fanbase loves leaders. Look at the ascension of Nick Foligno into the role of team captain as a recent example. Foligno came here last season in a mentorship role, and he excelled at it. He is clearly one of the most popular current Blackhawks and it's easy to understand why.

I believe that Martinez could be this season's version of Foligno. Something that we know about Martinez is that he is one of the NHL's greatest shot blockers.

That is a gritty, painful, and non-sexy aspect of the game of hockey which makes a huge impact on the game. Not only in terms of the impact on the ice but also in terms of the effect on the shot-blocker's teammates.

Martinez will be the Hawk's oldest defenseman this season, and when the young guys watch the "old man" block a brutal 98 MPH slapshot from less than ten feet away... I know that it will instill in them a toughness and a work ethic that Kyle Davidson is desperate to bring to the Hawks.

I believe that Martinez will finish this season as a fan favorite Blackhawk. Even if he is a player the Hawks deal at the deadline, I can see him being a guy that Hawks fans mention for years as one of their all time favorites. Queue your resident crazy Blackhawks fan uncle saying, "Martinez would have blocked that one! C'mon Kid! Get on the ice!"

Prediction Four: Frank Nazar and Kevin Korchinski Will Both Spend a Large Portion of the Season in Rockford

I know that this is a prediction many fans don't want to hear and I can understand why. Whenever we get a "new toy" we want to play with it. I think many fans are desperate to see the "young core guys" take a huge step and immediately grow into the roles that they will eventually occupy. However, the context here is crucial.

Brent Seabrook was drafted in 2003. He wasn't a full time NHL player until 2005-2006 and even then he wasn't the best version of himself until probably the 2007-2008 season when he started to really dominate games.

Duncan Keith was drafted in 2002, and he played two full seasons in Rockford before coming to the Hawks in 2005-2006, where he struggled for two more full seasons before realizing his potential in 2007-2008.

Development takes time, and it isn't linear. It would be foolish to give up on a player with the talent of Kevin Korchinski because he spends a season in the AHL. Honestly, the more I look at that decision, the more I feel that it is the right move.

He and Nazar would be playing on an elite Rockford team, packed with veterans like Brett Seney, David Gust, and Zach Sanford, as well as young studs like Colton Dach, Landon Slaggert, and Artyum Levshunov.

It is a perfect place to grow and develop. Lastly, no one is going to care where Nazar and Korchinski played in the 2024-2025 season if, in the 2029-2030 season, they are key pieces of a Hawks team that makes a deep playoff run.

Prediction Five: Lukas Reichel Will Score 20 Goals

This one is heart over head. I want things to go well for Reichel and I still believe that he has the talent and the ability to be a very good NHL player.

He will start this season, in all likelihood, among the Hawks' top six and he will possibly even play alongside Philip Kurashev and Teuvo Teravainen. Those are two excellent playmakers, and in that line, Reichel would be the best "scoring" option.

This certainly feels like Reichel's last chance to prove himself with the Blackhawks, and they are going to give him every opportunity to do it. I believe in him, and I'm going out on a limb saying that he will score at least 20 goals this season. I think he will finally cement himself as a very solid middle six forward for the Blackhawks.

We will have to wait and see how these predictions play out, but I'm excited to be right! Or wrong... who cares! Hockey is almost back, as the regular season is right around the corner!