Why Blackhawks players (probably) have no regrets from the tanking years

Here's the score: Players will say one thing, but think something else. I mean, everything in sports is PR these days, and it's why I rarely, if ever, take what someone's saying at face value.

Because we don't know what they're thinking, for the most part anyway. Some, like former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones, is an outlier, since he said exactly what was on his mind last season. And he ended up finishing the year in Sunrise, Florida, where he helped the Panthers win a Stanley Cup. Or, their second Cup in as many seasons.

But you won't get as many Seth Jones-like comments from everyone. Jones knew he was still a viable player, and while some may've seen his vocalness as a problem, we can at least look back fondly at Jones and say, "at least he was being honest."

But I'm not talking about Jones today, or players like him. Instead, I want to really talk more about what it may've been like to have been some of these players for the tanking team in 2003-04, and again in 2022-23 that ended with the Hawks getting the first pick via the draft lottery.

A lot of Blackhawks players probably knew the situation at hand and didn't care

It's like being a NASCAR driver for backburner teams. You know you're not going to win or even finish better than 30th place. But you still go out there, play your best game, and try to make the best out of a bad situation.

Yeah, it could be demoralizing at times, but at the same time, you know your situation and your role. I recently wondered how JJ Yeley kept getting NASCAR rides, and it was because he was a reliable "role player" who could keep a car clean and out of trouble.

The same thing went for a lot of those Blackhawks players whether it was back in 2003-04, or 2022-23. Chances are, a lot of them knew what they were getting into and were fine with it, because they were role players who would've found themselves further, maybe even much further, down the lineup if they played for a better team.

But, they could still step in and get the job done. They could still wear the uniform for a season or two and play as "stopgaps" before the real players, those meant to last a decade or longer, came in and turned things around. That said, the end result probably didn't shock them any more than it shocked anyone else.

Yes, teams will tank on purpose and the players probably won't care at the end of the day

You can also relate this to those early-season college football games when the small school goes on the road to play the big school. Yeah, the big school often wins by four-plus touchdowns, but players from the smaller school are just glad for the opportunity to play football in front of 100,000-plus people.

As for hockey teams that tanked and will keep tanking to try and land a high draft pick? It's the same concept. Not every player, obviously, but a strong contingent of them were just happy to have an opportunity to keep seeing ice time in the NHL, even if losing was the ultimate endgame.

That's not just for the Blackhawks of the 2003-04 and 2022-23 teams, but for any NHL organization looking to completely rebuild from scratch.

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