What is to blame for the Blackhawks poor start?

The fact of the matter is the 2026-2027 Chicago Blackhawks have not gotten off to the start that was expected heading into this season. This was an organization that entered this season with high hopes of competing for a playoff spot with this young group. That possibility now looks low based, on the 4-8-0 record to this point.

What is to blame for the Blackhawks slow start? Is it Jeff Blashill and his coaching staff? Is it Kyle Davidson and his management team? Is it the players? Is it everyone? Let's get into the main factors behind Chicago's struggles.

System implementation

The most obvious issue to spot with this team when watching the games is a lack of adherence to the designated system. Coach Jeff Blashill and his staff have instilled a style of play that is supposed to mirror that of the NHL's best teams, including the likes of the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The problem is this team has not been able to execute with this game plan. Is that the fault of Blashill instilling a system that does not complement these young players? Or is that the fault of Kyle Davidson constructing a roster that is not designed to play this system? Perhaps both are to blame. There appears to be a disconnect between Davidson's vision and Blashill's implementation.

Special teams

Special teams have been a problem for the Blackhawks this season. The power play ranks 31st in the league, converting at 10.3% to this point. With personnel that includes the likes of Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane on the flanks, this is unacceptable. To be fair, the recent absence of Bowen Byram at the point has not helped. The team has been running a five forward PP1 unit in the meantime, which has lacked results. The penalty kill has been better, clipping at a 78.4% success rate so far. That is good for 17th in the NHL. However, this is a far cry from the elite PK unit that paced the league for a large portion of last season.

Lack of progression

It's easy to blame Blashill and Davidson for where the team is at. And those criticisms are valid. With that said, they don't play the game. The uncomfortable reality is the players on the ice haven't been getting the job done either. This was projected to be a season of growth from the youth movement. However, stagnation has instead taken place.

Nick Lardis was seen as a breakout candidate approaching the season; he is now with the Rockford IceHogs. Oliver Moore received a five year contract extension just ahead of the campaign and was a healthy scratch this past weekend. Kane is the team's leading producer with just eight points in 12 games. Bedard already finds himself tied for second with six points, despite missing the first six games of the season. The depth scoring that was anticipated out of this team has been missing.

Loss of key structural players

Much was made of the Blackhawks sexy offseason additions, with Byram and Kane leading the pack. Not as much was made over who this team lost. Some of those departures are greatly missed right now.

Ilya Mikheyev stands out as a major loss for this team. He was arguably the top penalty killer on the team. He was a strong defensive forward who could also provide secondary scoring. The Blackhawks right-side of the D-core took a blow with the loss of the big Louis Crevier. Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy were dealt during last year's trade deadline, solid veterans who knew how to play their respective role's. Colton Dach and Nick Foligno were also dealt at the deadline; they both provided physicality this team is lacking at the moment.

None of these players are the type of guys that fans buy tickets to watch. But that said, they are solid players that can adhere to a structured system. Now, the Blackhawks have inserted inexperienced youth players who are still learning how to play that style of game.

Brutal opening schedule

The Chicago fandom is understandably getting tired of the excuses. However, it is fair to say this young Blackhawks team has been thrown to the wolves with this early schedule. Eight of the first 12 games have been played against teams that made the playoffs last season. The other four teams were all at or above .500, one of them being a Florida Panthers squad that has won multiple Stanley Cups in the past three years.

The problem is this schedule does not project to get any easier in the near future. The start of November will be a tough test for this team with a gauntlet that includes the Colorado Avalanche, Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Hurricanes.

Lineup inconsistency

The last factor that is important to keep in mind is that the full unit has still not taken to the ice in a game this season. The first six games did not feature Bedard, and the team went 1-5-0 in that stretch. Things have looked up a bit since, with the Hawks going 3-3 with Bedard back in the mix. The issue remains; once Bedard came back and Frank Nazar returned from suspension, the team then lost Byram to injury. Byram has not played the last five games, with the hope he could return on this upcoming road trip. So, this team has technically not played at full strength yet.

Will that make a difference? Only time will tell. This frustrated fanbase sure hopes so.

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