Why this Blackhawks season may turn out to be the perfect storm

The 2025-26 Chicago Blackhawks season has been a roller coaster campaign to say the least. It has been a tale of two halves, with the 2025 portion of the year seeing the team in the playoff conversation, while the 2026 portion has seen this group in the familiar draft lottery race.

While the second-half downfall has been unfortunate, it could actually prove to be a blessing in disguise. We may look back on this season as the perfect storm for this Blackhawks team.

Chicago is in prime position to receive another top pick

Coming off last night's 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Blackhawks have now lost five games in a row and been officially eliminated from 2026 playoff contention. This is the sixth year in a row that they will not be participating in the NHL postseason (nine if you don't count the 2020 Covid bubble run).

Unlike past years, however, this is the first year in a long time that a playoff ticket did not look completely out of question for this club. It is easy to forget how strong this team was at the start of the season. From October to December, the Blackhawks were consistently in a wild card spot, buoyed by the elite play of Connor Bedard up front. That stretch was a teaser trailer; it showed us a glimpse of what is possible in the not-too-distant future.

Everything changed on December 12th, when Bedard went down with a shoulder injury in a game vs. the St. Louis Blues, leaving the star forward sidelined for a month. Up to that point, he was playing the best hockey of his career, with 44 points in 31 games.

To make matters worse, the Blackhawks would also lose Frank Nazar with a broken jaw for a month shortly thereafter. The lack of "Bedzar" would lead to a midseason slog that saw the Blackhawks play decline drastically. By the time both forwards returned, the Olympic break had arrived, and before you knew it, this team was once again selling at the trade deadline.

That has led the Blackhawks to prioritize playing the kids to finish off the season. As you would expect, there has been its fair share of learning moments during this period. The product is fun to watch, but also clearly has plenty of room for growth. That improvement will come with time and experience.

Nevertheless, despite this recent rough patch, the Blackhawks have still gotten better this season. The 68 points they have amassed are the most seen since the 2021-2022 season. And yet they still remain in the same position in the standings as they finished last year, 31st, with six games yet to play.

While that reality may hurt in the short term, it could prove to be a gift in the long run. The Blackhawks odds of receiving a top two pick in this 2026 draft are high, especially if they finish where they currently sit in the standings.

The prospect of adding Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg to this already loaded forward pipeline that includes the likes of Bedard, Nazar, Anton Frondell, Nick Lardis, and Roman Kantserov is salivating. That possibility coming true would do a lot more for your franchise when all is said and done versus what could've been a lopsided first-round playoff matchup versus this Colorado Avalanche team (looking at you, San Jose).

Of course, a top two pick is far from a guarantee; the draft lottery exists for a reason. Nonetheless, they will be adding another top pick to their arsenal. If the pick is three or higher, whether they decide to take a defenseman or trade the pick for assets to help them win now, Kyle Davidson will have options to work with this summer to take this team to the next level.

Overall, this season may well be looked back on as the calm before the storm, depending on what transpires in the future with this organization.