Attendance shows healthy jump
A crowd of 18,742 filled the United Center for the Blackhawks’ home finale Sunday, bringing their final 2023-24 attendance average to 18,836.
Although there are a handful of games left to play around the league, the Hawks likely will wind up fourth in the NHL in attendance this season — behind the Canadiens, Lightning and Red Wings and just ahead of the Canucks, Hurricanes and Maple Leafs.
The average this season marked a sizable increase over the 17,167 of last season, which in itself exceeded expectations. It’s the Hawks’ highest full-season mark since 2019-20, when they averaged 21,441 fans in the final season of the sellout streak (before the pandemic hit).
The Hawks drew at least 18,000 fans to each of their final 16 home games, including a season-high crowd of 21,141 for Chris Chelios’ jersey retirement Feb. 25 against the Red Wings. They also exceeded 20,000 fans for the Black Friday game (Nov. 24 against the Leafs) and for the pre- and post-Christmas games (Dec. 22 against the Canadiens and Dec. 27 against the Jets).
They dipped below 17,000 only three times, with the season-low crowd of 16,401 coming Jan. 16 against the Sharks. That’s a big change from last season, when they fell short of 17,000 in 18 games.
Mrazek’s plans
Thanks to the two-year contract extension he signed in January, Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek won’t have to worry about free agency this summer.
Instead, after backstopping Czechia in the world championships his country is hosting next month, Mrazek will have time for some vacations and ‘‘a lot of golf.’’
Mrazek, 32, believes his decision to spend less time on the ice last summer (he focused on off-ice workouts instead) helped him to stay healthy this season, so he’ll follow the same routine this summer.
‘‘I hope next year we’re going to move into the right direction,’’ Mrazek said. ‘‘We’re going to start getting better, and we’re going to get closer to where we want to be, closer to the playoffs. That was the reason I wanted to stay. I know I can play a lot of games here, as well. I didn’t want to gamble in the offseason.’’
World travelers
With Mrazek playing for Czechia, defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic playing for the United States and forward Connor Bedard likely playing for Canada — provided his body feels OK after this final week of the NHL season — the Hawks could have four representatives in the world championships.
‘‘Worlds is fun,’’ coach Luke Richardson said. ‘‘It’s a little bit less stress than here, [where] you’re in the media every day. Over there, it’s a little quieter . . . . It’s great for the players to go over, get on the bigger ice and play in a little bit of a different environment.’’
Switching sides
Left-handed defenseman Kevin Korchinski technically played right defense Sunday, when he was paired with Jarred Tinordi instead of Jaycob Megna.
Richardson, who mentions often how interchangeable positions can be, quipped that Korchinski had played the right side before this season but ‘‘just doesn’t know it.’’
‘‘I’m not a big lefty-righty guy,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘The way the game is played now, sometimes you get on the other side. You’ve got to work on it and be ready for that, even if you’re not slotted there the whole game.’’
Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro made his second NHL appearance, but he’s expected to return to Rockford now.