The Chicago Blackhawks sent Seth Jones to All-Star Weekend. He did a great job representing himself, the city, and the organization. Now, he is back with the team as they get set to finish out this 2022-23 season.
We know that this season is not going to end with them competing for a postseason spot but that is by design. A successful season would be seeing them land in the top four of the draft so they can help their rebuild take another step at the 2023 NHL Draft.
Obviously, they want to have the best odds at winning the lottery so they can select Connor Bedard. Nothing is guaranteed but that would change the franchise for a long time. Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, and Leo Carlsson aren’t half bad either so getting into the top four is big.
The Hawks are back at it as the 31st team in the league out of 32. They will be hosting the 30th-ranked team in the Anaheim Ducks in this one. Both of these teams would love to win the lottery but there is a lot of hockey to be played.
The Chicago Blackhawks are finally back in action after All-Star Weekend.
Jonathan Toews won’t be playing in this one as he is dealing with a non-COVID-related illness. We don’t know if Toews is going to be traded (he is on an expiring contract) but this is how the Hawks might look in the not-so-distant future. Obviously, other players are in the same boat.
Chicago is actually tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the least amount of points in the league but they are in second to last instead of dead last because they have fewer games played. They will catch that number as the Blue Jackets finish out their bye-week this week.
Obviously, guys like Patrick Kane, Seth Jones, and Max Domi amongst others have made some big plays this year despite the team’s lack of winning success.
The Anaheim Ducks can say the same thing about some of their players. Guys like Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry have been a joy to watch but their team just isn’t winning behind them.
Each franchise is hoping to see things get turned around sooner rather than later. That is why this game is so important for the tank wars but neither team is going to see their players care much about that. Everyone outside of the front office wants to win so it will be interesting to see what happens.
