The Chicago Blackhawks were arguably the NHL’s most accomplished dynasty of the 2010s - three Stanley Cup titles in five years, a host of decorated players - but this decade has not been nearly as kind.
The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in seven straight campaigns, the longest such streak in franchise history, and have finished last in the Central Division four years in a row.
Several players on this year’s roster are drawing excitement from their peers around the league, though - including an old face from the franchise’s glory years - and after a 20-point jump in the standings over the past three seasons, there may be reason for hope in the Windy City this year.
Can Patrick Kane move back the clock in Chicago?
It all starts with Patrick Kane, the former Hart Trophy winner who also won a Conn Smythe in helping the Blackhawks to their three Stanley Cup titles. Kane was shipped out to the New York Rangers during the 2022-23 campaign in a trade, then signed with the Detroit Red Wings before returning to the franchise that drafted him first overall back in 2007 on a two-year deal worth $16 million this off-season.
His long-time teammate Alex DeBrincat, who spent five years with Kane in Chicago and the past three in Detroit, thinks that this signing has the chance to be more than just a swan song for a franchise’s beloved player.
“He’s got a lot more than people give him credit for,” DeBrincat said at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas, per The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. “Everyone thinks he was a great player, and I think he still is a great player.”
Kane scored 16 goals and finished with 57 points in 67 games a year ago with the Red Wings - far from some of the numbers he produced in his prime with Chicago, but still a productive winger at his age.
“He’s still almost a point per game, the way he still controls the play and makes passes and slows it down,” DeBrincat said. “He’s obviously still a power-play guy, can really run your power play. And even his battle intensity — it’s not like he’s lost any of that. He’s still so competitive and wants to be the best and wants to win.
“I think Chicago’s lucky to have him,” DeBrincat said. “Obviously, we wish he was still in Detroit, but I guess if he’s going anywhere, it’s probably good he’s going back there. All the fans will treat him well there.”
Bowen Byram has a chance to prove Kyle Davidson right
Kane may receive a more heartfelt welcome from the fans for his past in Chicago, but the biggest move of the off-season for the Blackhawks was the acquisition of defenceman Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for this year’s No. 4 draft pick and Louis Crevier.
Byram himself is a former fourth-overall draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche back in 2019, and the 25-year-old will have a chance to move the needle in a significant way in Chicago if he is able to reach another level of production.
For Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson, a trade of this magnitude can only be justified if Byram performs like a true No. 1 defenceman - and Byram has at least one believer on that front in former Sabres teammate Tage Thompson.
“He is a No. 1 defenceman,” Thompson said at the player media tour. “One of the strengths of our team is our back end. We’ve got a lot of really, really solid D. Obviously, Dahlin’s on another level, and guys that play behind him maybe don’t get the recognition that they probably deserve outside the locker-room walls. But inside the locker room, guys know what each of those guys brings to the table, and Byram was one of those guys that brings it every single night.”
Byram set a career high with 42 points in 82 games last season, then added four goals in 13 games to help the Sabres take the Montreal Canadiens to Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs.
“You look at the season that he had and the numbers he put up without being on the power play - it’s pretty impressive,” Thompson said. “And then the playoffs that he had - I thought he was at times our best player on the ice. We’re going to miss him a lot, and Chicago’s getting a great player. I think he’s definitely worth every penny.”
Is this the year Connor Bedard truly breaks out?
The Blackhawks’ ascent to the upper echelons of the Western Conference largely hinges on whether Bedard can take the next step in his career progression. The 21-year-old centre, the top pick in the 2023 draft, has a Calder Trophy to his name after putting up 61 points in 68 games as a rookie.
He set a career high with 75 points in 69 games a season ago, despite missing time with a broken jaw and a shoulder injury.
Bedard had surgery on his other shoulder during the off-season after he injured it skating with other NHLers in Western Canada, and is not expected to be ready for the beginning of the season.
But before that injury occurred, his peers were impressed with how he looked in those sessions in Western Canada.
“He looked great,” San Jose Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini said. “He’s gonna do great. I know he’s been working real hard even since the injury just to make sure he’s ready for the season.”
The Blackhawks are hoping for an improvement out of Bedard similar to the one the league saw last year out of Celebrini - the first-overall pick in the 2024 draft went from 63 points in 70 games as a rookie to 115 points in 82 games in his sophomore campaign last year.
That performance helped the Sharks climb from 52 points and the bottom of the Western Conference in 2024-25 to 86 points and just outside the playoff picture in 2025-26.
Celebrini was asked whether he and Bedard could form a superstar duo similar to Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, or Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. “I hope so,” Celebrini said. “I really hope so.”
The Blackhawks would certainly hope so as well.
