Chicago Blackhawks: Actually a serious playoff contender right nowVincent Pariseon August 3, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Everything that Fleury does well is the type of goaltending that the Hawks have needed for a few years now. They have been bad at giving up high danger chances over the years and Fleury is one of the best in the business at shutting those down.

The Hawks have also tried to do their best at fixing that defense problem that was alluded to. Seth Jones is one of the best defensemen in the NHL and now the Hawks have him. He will be their number one defenseman for the next half-decade or more. Adam Boqvist, who isn’t very good, went back to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the trade for Jones.

They also landed his brother Caleb Jones in the trade that sent Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers. He isn’t what his brother is but he will be a good third pair guy on a team that might actually be pretty deep in that regard. They also added Jake McCabe via free agency which should really help them as well. With those three joining the cast that is already there, it should be formidable.

The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping that their team plays as well as it looks on paper.

Jonathan Toews is going to be back in the fold as he appears to be healthy. He will be right there with Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, and Dominik Kubalik as the team’s best forwards. They also made a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning for Tyler Johnson. He is going to come in and make a major impact as well.

Whether you like the idea of the trade and his cap hit or not, he is an upgrade to the forward group. He put up decent numbers in his final years with Tampa as his usage started to decrease. He will certainly be used a lot more with Chicago and should thrive. There are not lots of options at the center of the ice. It is going to make a major impact on the offense and how the forwards play in their own end.

With all of these positive vibes in mind, it is fair to be worrisome about the division as well. The Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars will all be very good as well. It isn’t like the Nashville Predators or St. Louis Blues are bad teams either. They are going to still have their work cut out for them but they certainly are a much better team now with serious playoff aspirations.