The ultimate checklist for a successful 2024-25 Blackhawks season

For some teams, earning a trip to the playoffs or even making a deep playoff run is the ideal endgame. While every fanbase should rightfully expect their team to earn a trip to the postseason, it realistically isn’t going to happen for all of them, and the Chicago Blackhawks still aren’t what you would consider a playoff-bound squad. 

But nevertheless, they’re a better hockey team and one that fans in the Windy City will expect to evolve into something that resembles a “middle of the pack” team. So, what three factors constitute the ultimate checklist to ensure the Hawks are at least respectable enough for fans to believe they can earn a trip to the playoffs next season? 

Connor Bedard becomes a Top 25 player 

If you’ve been paying attention, Connor Bedard is officially ranked in the top 50, and that’s good enough for 2024-25. But if his ranking stagnates between this season and 2025-26, it means he struggled through an infamous “sophomore slump.”

Even if he didn’t make a major leap between now and October 2025, I wouldn’t call it a successful season for the former No. 1 overall pick. Nope, Bedard must garner a top 25 ranking and, ideally, become a top 15 player by the time the end of the 2024-25 season rolls around. 

This doesn’t mean he needs to lead the Blackhawks into the playoffs, but becoming more than just a solid player in Year 2 and the reason other players in the league want to play in Chicago will set the stage for the Hawks long-awaited return to the playoffs in 2026. 

Finishing fifth in the Central Division

Yeah, this may be a stretch, but let’s be honest: It’s possible. The St. Louis Blues are still restructuring their big club, and that will continue this season, perhaps even more if they struggle in the opening months. 

You can count the Minnesota Wild as one of the NHL’s rebuilding teams unless they surprise as out of the gate, and the Utah Hockey Club is most likely a year away from truly contending. Of the three teams, Utah is the Hawks biggest threat, but again, they’re not a good hockey team. 

As for Chicago, they brought in some big names this offseason, they have a generational talent in Connor Bedard, and they have a solid core of youngsters and veterans. They won’t likely make the playoffs because there will still be a learning curve, but the Hawks, on paper, are better than St. Louis, Utah, and Minnesota. 

Finishing 20th or better in goals for and goals against

Why post such respectable numbers? Hey, the closer the Blackhawks get to the top 16 in either category, the closer they’ll be to landing a playoff spot, even if it’s just setting the stage for 2025-26. And they have the talent to turn this ambition into a reality, with Bedard likely to take another leap, plus Philipp Kurashev, Teuvo Teravainen, and Tyler Bertuzzi, among others. 

Should Lukas Reichel play to expectations and Jason Dickinson continue his own upward trend, there’s no reason for the Hawks to finish any lower than 20th in scoring. Flip to the defensive side, and the likes of Kevin Korchinski, should he make the big club, Seth Jones, Alex Vlasic, Alec Martinez, and T.J. Brodie, and the Hawks should be just fine in the goals against column.