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How will the Chicago Blackhawks offense improve after last season?

The Blackhawks offense has not been very good the past couple of seasons.

By Ethan Gawronski |
Calgary Flames v Chicago Blackhawks
Calgary Flames v Chicago Blackhawks / Patrick McDermott/GettyImages
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Hockey season is almost here as the dog days of summer are ending and training camps are close to being underway.

This is when the excitement starts to kick in for NHL fans waiting eagerly to see their favorite team play again. The offseason always brings lots of change, and this one was no different.

The Chicago Blackhawks are beginning to try to get out of the basement in the NHL.

For two consecutive seasons, the Blackhawks have finished in the bottom three of the standings and are looking to improve.

Rebuilding the franchise back to being a Stanley Cup Contender would never be easy and it would not happen overnight, but there comes a time when the expectations have to rise.

In his first three drafts, general manager Kyle Davidson has stockpiled the prospect pool full of quality young talent, highlighted by 2023 1st overall pick Connor Bedard. The team winning the draft lottery secured them their franchise player to build around, and the moves made this offseason are doing just that.

After picking Artyom Levshunov with the 2nd pick in the draft, the Blackhawks began adding to the roster for this upcoming season.

Additions were made to the forward group to bring about a better supporting cast around Connor Bedard who could help carry the weight offensively. Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ilya Mikheyev were the main forwards brought in to help add that much needed depth.

Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie were also added on defense to provide experienced veterans who can help mentor the incoming young players. Top free-agent netminder Laurent Brossoit was also brought in to become a tandem team with Petr Mrazek in net.

This season's Blackhawks roster is undoubtedly improved. On paper, they should perform better than they did last season. Injuries plagued the team last season, and a healthy roster with their added players should make a much more competitive product on the ice.

When reflecting on where the Blackhawks could improve upon from last season, some areas were prevalent when watching the team play.

For instance, the offense was not anywhere near expectations.

The Blackhawks' were dead-last in goals-for per game last season with an average of 2.17. The offensive output was largely in part to injuries derailing the forward group and having many players struggle in roles they were not ready for.

Players such as Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou were expected to be key contributors on last year's roster, but both missed significant time with injury. Both players logged 38 games combined which left the Blackhawks without two of their better scorers.

Connor Bedard also being injured with a fractured jaw took away the team's main weapon up-front, leading the offense to be at it's lowest.

One glaring reason the Blackhawks struggled offensively is that they did not shoot the puck. They finished second-to-last in terms of shots with 2,153.

This led to the Blackhawks having the worst shooting percentage in the league with 8.3%, meaning they weren't capitalizing when the quality chances came to them.

Connor Bedard was the only Blackhawks player to exceed 200 shots on the season. To put that number into perspective, Nathan MacKinnon led the NHL with 405, though Bedard would have likely had many more if he had played a full season.

Bedard being the only player on the team with over 200 shots, it is clear there just weren't enough players putting the puck on net. Luckily, Taylor Hall is expected to be healthy and playing in a large role this season. In 2021-22, Hall posted 217 shots with Boston where he played in a higher-role.

With the added boost to the offense, the shot totals should likely increase this season with their being far more quality options throughout the lineup.

Statistically, the best area of offense for the Blackhawks last season was the powerplay at 16.6% and 28th in the league.

The powerplay had moments last season where it looked strong, the chemistry of Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev led to games with higher output on the man-advantage.

It would be shocking if the powerplay did not improve this season. Young players like Bedard and Kevin Korchinski are now in their second year and hopefully will take another step forward. Other rookies like Frank Nazar also are possibilities to make the team, adding another highly-skilled forward to the roster.

The Blackhawks were also 27th in powerplay opportunities, meaning they lacked drawing penalties just as much as scoring when given the chance. This ties into puck possession, a team who does not shoot, score, or draw penalties enough is simply not keeping control of the puck.

With the return of Taylor Hall, a healthy Athanasiou, and the additions of Bertuzzi and Teravainen, the Blackhawks will have the opportunity to control the puck much more. The offense was largely centered around Bedard last season, which makes it easier for opposing teams to defend, but that will change this season.

More options throughout the lineup will make the Blackhawks less predictable on offense and can open up the ice for quality chances which weren't prevalent last season.

Without a doubt, the Blackhawks offense should be fun to watch this season. The amount of new players makes it very exciting to think about the possibilities of what they could accomplish. Luckily, we only have a few more weeks to wait before the season begins.

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