CHANGING ON THE FLY
Hawks epitomize what looks like wide-open NHL season
The Blackhawks’ opening three-game road trip perfectly demonstrates the great uncertainty that lies ahead this season.
On one hand, the trip looks like a gauntlet. The Avalanche are arguably the Western Conference favorites. The Devils were arguably the most improved team in the league this offseason. The Penguins are a perennial contender with 15 consecutive postseason appearances.
On the other hand, all three have weaknesses. Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon will miss the opener against the Hawks after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Devils star Dougie Hamilton hasn’t played a game yet for his new team. Penguins stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are out injured, Malkin long-term.
Across the board, the league looks wide open, ripe for a changing of the guard or at least a disruption of the hierarchy.
More elite players switched teams this summer than in years. Most teams haven’t faced each other in 19 months. The pandemic continues to wreak havoc, robbing the brandnew Kraken of two key players for their debut Tuesday against the Golden Knights.
And the Hawks sit at the center of the uncertainty, looking equally poised for a return to the NHL’s upper echelon or a crash that could cost most of the team’s management and coaching staff their jobs.
Jonathan Toews could play like Toews again or struggle with the rigors of 82 games. Marc-Andre Fleury could look like a Vezina Trophy winner again or resume succumbing to the effects of age the way he did in 2019-20 (his mediocre .905 save percentage that year has been conveniently forgotten). Seth Jones could lead the defense’s revitalization or continue his statistical downward trend.
Patrick Kane could play like the Hart Trophy contender he appeared to be during the first half of last season or like the injuryplagued 32-year-old he appeared to be during the second half. Alex DeBrincat could be either his tremendous 2021 self or his snakebitten 2019-20 self.
The Hawks’ new focus on grit and physicality among their depth players could add a much needed element of resistance or stifle their biggest team strength, transition offense. Coach Jeremy Colliton’s loyalty to his system finally could click with the right personnel or backfire one final, fatal time.
If most of those things turn out well, the Hawks easily could finish second in the wideopen Central Division. But if things fall apart, they just as easily could finish seventh.
At least the process of finding out — with dates against all 31 other franchises, fans in every arena and new TV providers elevating coverage quality — should be interesting.