What Jeff Blashill has to address for the Blackhawks' success

The Chicago Blackhawks hired Jeff Blashill in the 2025 offseason, and Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times noted that he and Connor Bedard texted about the Florida Panthers' tactics throughout the playoffs. Blashill was also not seen in the best light by Mikhail Sergachev, who reportedly said that Blashill came in and made everything different in the Lightning's system. Sergachev claimed that Blashill came in and told the Lightning defense that they will be playing like the Vegas Golden Knights because "it works."

Well, while it may have improved Sergachev's plus/minus slightly, he did not enjoy playing in that system and was traded to Utah. I have noticed Blashill's tendency to look around the league as to what works systematically, and while it makes sense in many ways, he seems to attempt to plug in the system to the team he is currently with. Rather than considering what the players want and how they should be deployed, he structures their systems based solely on the teams' success in the league.

Blashill has to realize that the Blackhawks are not the Florida Panthers

This isn't rocket science: The Blackhawks are not built like the Panthers systematically, nor are they literally built like them. The Blackhawks are the lightest team in the league, and playing a heavy style clearly doesn't work. Just what are the Blackhawks good at? Well, they are fast and can apply heavy forecheck pressure, yes, like the Panthers. But the defense was too young to apply what really makes the Panthers' forecheck work: Responsible D covering the blue line.

See, with Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, and more, the Panthers have an experienced defensive corps that allows the "go-for-broke" pressure system. The Blackhawks do not have this yet, and should really look into the 2-1-2 forecheck that worked for them prior. Two forwards are checking the D, the center generally hovering closer to the middle of the zone, and the defense covering the red line, playing conservatively as they monitor the potential breakout play. This allows a fast pressure, but also counters the breakout play that killed the Blackhawks later in the year. The defense got beaten, and the opposition was home free for a high-danger chance or a goal against.

Again, while it makes sense for Blashill to see what works for the best teams in the league. However, the Panthers' system is known to be difficult to execute, and expecting a young, inexperienced team to play that type of hockey is unrealistic, and it hurt the team in the long run. What he needs to do is assign roles to the players that suit their playstyles, and create a system that emphasizes the strengths of the pieces he does have. Here's to hoping every player knows what is expected of them and the precise type of hockey they need to play to be successful, rather than being completely one-dimensional.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow