The Chicago Blackhawks didn't have the season they had hoped for. At the very least, the expectation was that some positive strides would be taken. Some players showed positives, but others didn't. A lot has to be done for this team to come out of a rebuild quickly, pass a number of teams, and get back into the playoffs. These are some things that will have to happen if there is any shot at that at all.
Connor Bedard & Frank Nazar (Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)
Once there started to be injuries, players were being traded or demoted, and the young talent was given a shot, it started to pay off. This was a blunder by general manager Kyle Davidson in overcorrecting and bringing in too many veterans. It limited the opportunities for the younger players, and there were a lot of players deserving of more and better chances.
Many broke through though and will have full time spots on the Blackhawks next season. This includes players like Frank Nazar, Sam Rinzel, Arvid Soderblom, Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, Colton Dach, Wyatt Kaiser, and potentially players like Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan, and Ethan Del Mastro. There is no room to add defense and it would only hurt both goaltenders if someone was added in net to compete with them, but the forward unit could do with a big name addition.
This leads us into the big name addition that is needed. There is a ton of cap space to work with, even considering some of the young talent will need to be paid. At some point, the Blackhawks will require an impactful player to be brought in to help with offense and more. The young players like Connor Bedard, Nazar, etc. can't be relied upon to carry this team at their age. Just like how the Dallas Stars brought in players like Joe Pavelski and Matt Duchene to complement their young talent, Chicago has to do the same if they want a similar path to the top.
A good head coach can make a huge difference. Not as much as in a league like the NFL, but there is still a ton that goes into making the right decisions and how to interact with different players at different times. I don't think Anders Sorensen was a bad fill-in head coach for the Blackhawks this season, but he also wasn't anything special or moved the Blackhawks in the right direction either.
There are a lot of good coaches available, even with Mike Sullivan and Joel Quenneville coming off the market. Chicago has already been doing their due diligence which suggests that they are going to hire a new head coach externally. He needs to be good with young players as the Blackhawks are clearly filled with young talent.
