MILWAUKEE — Last season did not go well for Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson.

He went from the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning to the dysfunctional Hawks. His long-lingering back injury blew up, requiring him to follow in Jack Eichel’s footsteps and have artificial disc-replacement surgery. Even after returning from that, he missed more time with a concussion and never found his scoring rhythm.

So the best part about this season for Johnson might be that it’s not last season. Just listen to how he describes it.

”Last year was a whirlwind with everything going on, and then getting hurt and then coming back and having the season we were having,” he said recently. ”Last year was honestly, right from the get-go, kind of a messed up year.

”Everyone that was there last year that’s here now . . . [is] just refreshed. There are a lot more smiles, and guys are a lot happier than even what they were at the start of last year. It’s a whole different dynamic right now, and it’s really good.”

But the passage of time isn’t the only reason Johnson feels more optimistic about 2022-23. He also finally had the kind of summer — relaxing and rejuvenating — that he needed to enter training camp at his best.

”I’ll be able to be a lot better than I was,” Johnson said. ”A lot of that has to do with feeling healthy, having a [full] summer [and] mentally and physically resetting.”

He got to begin his offseason in April, like normal, rather than in October, like in 2020 (after the Lightning’s COVID-19 bubble title), or in July, like in 2021 (after the Lightning’s delayed title).

He experienced no complications with his artificial disc and woke up every morning feeling pain-free. He went fishing in Mexico and spent time back home in Washington state.

And he adopted Hawks strength-and-conditioning coach Paul Goodman’s famous workout schedule and exercises. With the Lightning, summer training revolved primarily around one thing: ”How much you can lift?” Johnson quickly realized this was a bit different.

”That was a lot of cardio, a lot of movement-based stuff, a lot of different stuff that I haven’t really done before,” he said. ”Now I feel like I’m a little more connected to my body. And I didn’t have to worry about my neck or my shoulders at all, so I didn’t have anything that I had to watch or be careful with. It was nice to just push myself.”

Now the most pressing question is how similar Johnson, at 100% mental and physical health, can be to the player he used to be. Can he be close to the version of himself that scored 45 or more points in three consecutive seasons (2016-17 to 2018-19)?

Playing time will be readily available on this Hawks team, and if Johnson rushes out of the gate like a 45-point guy, he could secure a top-six role. On the other hand, he is 32 years old — when/if Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews depart, he’ll be the oldest Hawks forward — and produced at a mere 22-point pace even when he was in the lineup last season.

Only time will tell on that front. In the meantime, new coach Luke Richardson already is appreciating the experience and positivity Johnson brings.

”He’s helpful on the ice at practice — with players and coaches — to make sure that we get a beat on whether things are being ingested properly and understood,” Richardson said. ”He’s got a great personality, he’s smiling and he likes to have fun. I used to hate [coaching] against him . . . because he brought energy to the other team, and that’s what he’s going to do for us this year.”

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A 3-year-old boy shot while riding in a car with his mother was among six people killed by gunfire over the weekend in Chicago, and a 7-year-old boy was among 28 other people wounded.

Mateo Zastro was shot while riding in a car with his mother in the West Lawn neighborhood. The boy was riding with his mother and three other children about 8:40 p.m. Friday in the 4400 block of West Marquette Road when someone in the rear seat of a red sedan opened fire, striking the boy in the head, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead hours later.A Chicago police officer shot and killed a man in the Old Town neighborhood Sunday morning, officials said. About 5:05 a.m., the man, believed to be in his 20s, was fatally shot by an officer in the 400 block of West Blackhawk Street, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Sunday morning. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died from his gunshot wounds, Chicago Fire Department officials said.Casey Rodriguez, 30, was found with a gunshot wound to the head about 11:40 a.m. Saturday inside a home in the 2000 block of South Michigan Avenue, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Details of the shooting were not available.About an hour and a half later, a 30-year-old man was killed in a shooting in Roseland on the Far South Side. He was shot in the head about 1:20 p.m. in the 300 block of West 110th Street, police said. A 21-year-old man was found with multiple gunshot wounds later Saturday in the same block. He was found about 9:05 p.m. by responding officers and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died.A man was fatally shot early Sunday after an argument on the Near North Side. About 5:20 a.m., the man, 38, was found on a sidewalk in the 300 block of West Division Street where he had been shot multiple times by someone he was arguing with, police said. He was taken to Northwestern, where he died, police said.A 7-year-old boy was shot Sunday morning as he and family members were on their way to church, police said. One of the relatives noticed someone inside their parked car in the 10800 block of South State Street, police said. As the relative confronted the person, the man brandished a weapon and opened fire, striking the boy in the leg. He was taken to Roseland Hospital then transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, officials said.Two teens were wounded by gunfire Saturday night in Greater Grand Crossing on the South Side. A boy, 14, and a 19-year-old man were standing in the 7200 block of South Dobson Street about 6:20 p.m. when someone pulled up next to them in a car and an occupant started shooting, police said.Another 14-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon in Auburn Gresham on the South Side. He was walking about noon in the 800 block of West 87th Place when someone approached him and fired a gun, police said. The boy was struck in the shoulder and leg.Early Saturday on the South Side, a man was shot during an attempted robbery in the Kenwood neighborhood. About 12:45 a.m., the man, 29, was walking in the 1400 block of East 47th Street when he was shot as two suspects were trying to rob him, police said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition.A man was shot during a carjacking early Monday on the Near West Side, according to police. The man, 46, was sitting inside his vehicle about 1 a.m. in the 300 block of North Western Avenue when someone in a dark sedan pulled up in front of his car and three gunmen exited. They opened fire on the 46-year-old after the man refused to surrender his vehicle, striking him in the groin and right thigh. The man was taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital. The gunmen fled in the man’s vehicle and the dark sedan.

At least 22 other people were wounded by gunfire between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday across Chicago.

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Patrick Finley and Jason Lieser detail another underwhelming day for Justin Fields and the challenge Matt Eberflus faces in trying to get the Bears’ offense moving in the right direction.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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MILWAUKEE — It hasn’t come about in the way the Blackhawks would have preferred, but top prospect Lukas Reichel now has an easier path to make their opening-night roster.

Entering the final week of the preseason — after the Hawks lost 3-0 to the Wild on Sunday at Fiserv Forum — the roster battle on the forward side now looks more interesting.

Boris Katchouk will miss the next four to six weeks because of a sprained left ankle, the team announced, opening up his spot to challengers until at least November. In addition, fellow depth forward Jujhar Khaira is day-to-day with an injury to his right ankle.

It’s an unlucky break for Katchouk, who was having one of his best games in a Hawks sweater Saturday — plowing through Red Wings like a wrecking ball on his way to the net every shift — before leaving in the third period.

”He was skating really well; he was doing a great job on the penalty kill,” coach Luke Richardson said. ”That sucks for him. Players work really hard in the summer to prepare for this, and [when] you don’t even get to start the season, it’s disappointing.”

If the Hawks want to replace Katchouk with a similar type of player, Reichel won’t be the guy. Josiah Slavin, who has looked like a budding penalty-kill specialist this preseason, would more likely benefit in that situation.

But if the Hawks want to replace Katchouk with the best player overall, Reichel is the obvious choice. His vision and agility with the puck on his stick — orchestrating blue-line entries with ease — would be extremely valuable for the offensively challenged Hawks, provided management is willing to throw him into the fire right away.

”There’s some flashes that [Lukas has] shown,” Richardson said. ”Obviously, he’s got the skill. I found a couple of clips for him defensively [where] he was in really good position. So now he’s just got to dig down and fight for that spot.

”He’s definitely skillful enough to play in this league. He just has to make sure he keeps pushing to deserve that opportunity.”

Quicker decisions

Preseason caveats aside, it’s concerning — albeit not particularly surprising — that the Hawks have scored only four non-empty-net goals in their first four exhibition games.

They fielded completely different rosters Saturday and Sunday, but both groups looked equally indecisive and ineffective in dangerous scoring areas. New signees Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi have been two of the most frequent offenders in that regard. They continue to force lateral passes to Patrick Kane instead of shooting from the slot.

Captain Jonathan Toews, who played Saturday but not Sunday, broke down a few issues the Hawks are having.

”It comes down to guys talking more and knowing what their options are when they get the puck,” Toews said. ”We just tended to kind of stand still, wait one, two, three seconds, and then the play’s gone. You’re putting the next guy in a bad position and it’s a turnover, and then we spend a shift in our own zone.

”We’re just throwing [the puck] into an area to get rid of it and throw your teammate under the bus when he gets the puck. . . . [If] you support each other better, support the puck-carrier better and work harder to get to those open spots, then things are easier on the next player.”

Toews probably will spend much of the season frustrated. Most of his teammates simply aren’t upper-tier NHL players. But the Hawks would like to correct as many underlying problems as possible before camp ends.

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MILWAUKEE — It hasn’t come about in the way the Blackhawks would have preferred, but top prospect Lukas Reichel now has an easier path to make their opening-night roster.

Entering the final week of the preseason — after the Hawks lost 3-0 to the Wild on Sunday at Fiserv Forum — the roster battle on the forward side now looks more interesting.

Boris Katchouk will miss the next four to six weeks because of a sprained left ankle, the team announced, opening up his spot to challengers until at least November. In addition, fellow depth forward Jujhar Khaira is day-to-day with an injury to his right ankle.

It’s an unlucky break for Katchouk, who was having one of his best games in a Hawks sweater Saturday — plowing through Red Wings like a wrecking ball on his way to the net every shift — before leaving in the third period.

”He was skating really well; he was doing a great job on the penalty kill,” coach Luke Richardson said. ”That sucks for him. Players work really hard in the summer to prepare for this, and [when] you don’t even get to start the season, it’s disappointing.”

If the Hawks want to replace Katchouk with a similar type of player, Reichel won’t be the guy. Josiah Slavin, who has looked like a budding penalty-kill specialist this preseason, would more likely benefit in that situation.

But if the Hawks want to replace Katchouk with the best player overall, Reichel is the obvious choice. His vision and agility with the puck on his stick — orchestrating blue-line entries with ease — would be extremely valuable for the offensively challenged Hawks, provided management is willing to throw him into the fire right away.

”There’s some flashes that [Lukas has] shown,” Richardson said. ”Obviously, he’s got the skill. I found a couple of clips for him defensively [where] he was in really good position. So now he’s just got to dig down and fight for that spot.

”He’s definitely skillful enough to play in this league. He just has to make sure he keeps pushing to deserve that opportunity.”

Quicker decisions

Preseason caveats aside, it’s concerning — albeit not particularly surprising — that the Hawks have scored only four non-empty-net goals in their first four exhibition games.

They fielded completely different rosters Saturday and Sunday, but both groups looked equally indecisive and ineffective in dangerous scoring areas. New signees Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi have been two of the most frequent offenders in that regard. They continue to force lateral passes to Patrick Kane instead of shooting from the slot.

Captain Jonathan Toews, who played Saturday but not Sunday, broke down a few issues the Hawks are having.

”It comes down to guys talking more and knowing what their options are when they get the puck,” Toews said. ”We just tended to kind of stand still, wait one, two, three seconds, and then the play’s gone. You’re putting the next guy in a bad position and it’s a turnover, and then we spend a shift in our own zone.

”We’re just throwing [the puck] into an area to get rid of it and throw your teammate under the bus when he gets the puck. . . . [If] you support each other better, support the puck-carrier better and work harder to get to those open spots, then things are easier on the next player.”

Toews probably will spend much of the season frustrated. Most of his teammates simply aren’t upper-tier NHL players. But the Hawks would like to correct as many underlying problems as possible before camp ends.

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A man was killed in a fire Sunday night in Burnside on the South Side.

About 7:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a call of a house that had caught fire in the 1100 block of East 90th Street, the Chicago Fire Department said. After arriving, firefighters entered the house to rescue a man who was trapped inside.

The man was pulled from the home and taken to Trinity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, fire officials said.

The fire was put down by 8 p.m., fire officials said. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known.

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