KANE MAKES THE GRADE
His 46 points are 19 more than any other Hawks forward
Thirty-eight games into the season, the Blackhawks are near the halfway mark in an undesirable, if not fatal, position.
Although a porous defense probably deserves the most blame, the Hawks surprisingly have also struggled offensively, ranking 22nd in goals and 18th in scoring chances per game.
The following grades compare each player’s production and performance to their expectations and salary-cap hit, not to each other:
Patrick Kane
Kane’s zero-point outing Monday dropped him a few decimals below a 100-point pace on the season, but he still could easily hit the mark.
With 46 points — 19 more than any other Hawks forward — Kane has largely carried the offense, despite his (per usual) poor underlying numbers.
Grade: A
Jonathan Toews
After an exceptionally frustrating fall for the Hawks’ captain, Toews finally has come on of late and tallied 12 points in his last nine games.
But he’s also on track to finish with the worst scoring-chance ratio of his career, and his production isn’t living up to his $10.5 million cap hit.
Grade: C+
Alex DeBrincat
DeBrincat has taken a concerning step backward in his third season after setting sky-high expectations in the first two.
He has been snakebitten, no doubt, but after scoring in three consecutive games this month, he has gone eight in a row without a goal.
Grade: C
Dylan Strome
Strome hasn’t been the elite first-line playmaker that his breakout last spring implied, but that was always going to be difficult to maintain. He’s still on pace for 55 points, just two shy of last season’s combined total with the Hawks and Coyotes. Grade: B
Brandon Saad
Saad’s ankle injury is untimely because it temporarily disrupts what had become an impressive season in terms of puck control and chance generation (if not a sky-high point total).
Grade: A
Andrew Shaw
Shaw’s future remains unclear after he suffered yet another concussion in late November. The gritty winger wasn’t on his A-game before the setback, either, but the Hawks still would benefit greatly from his return.
Grade: B
Zack Smith
With Shaw and Drake Caggiula on injured reserve, Smith is strangely in the company of Kane and Toews as the three Hawks forwards with cap hits over $1 million. Smith’s $3.25 million hit isn’t so bad because the Artem Anisimov trade saved the Hawks $1.3 million, but the veteran is on pace for only 14 points after tallying 28 last year with the Senators.
Grade: C
Kirby Dach
Dach’s production has slumped over the last month, and he’s one of the Hawks’ worst forwards in scoring-chance ratio. But he’s nonetheless demonstrating many of the tools — strength, creativity and resilience — that eventually should make the 18-year-old a stud center.
Grade: B
Alex Nylander
Nylander, like Dach, has shown plenty of intriguing raw tools that seemingly foreshadow future stardom. But the fact he has yet to put it all together consistently is worrisome.
Grade: C
Dominik Kubalik
Kubalik has been dynamite since his elevation to Toews’ line a few weeks ago, developing into an excellent complementary scorer at a bargain price. He’s quietly third on the team in goals.
Grade: A
Ryan Carpenter
Carpenter has done exactly what he was brought in to do: improve the penalty kill, win faceoffs, provide bottom-six stability. He also has contributed a little offense.
Grade: B+
David Kampf
Colliton’s early-season adoration of Kampf has seemingly worn off, with the Czech center relegated to a smaller role. His five goals are already a career high, though.
Grade: B