The 2024-25 Blackhawks season hasn\u2019t captured much attention so far, and that\u2019s not going to change. Many fans aren\u2019t able to watch \u2014 conveniently at least \u2014 due to Chicago Sports Network\u2019s absence from Xfinity, and the team\u2019s struggles haven\u2019t motivated anyone to go out of their way to do so. Interim coach Anders Sorensen has made the games more up-tempo, but there\u2019s very little chance he manages to drag the team out of the NHL\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n
On top of the Hawks\u2019 lack of intrigue, the middle portion of the NHL season isn\u2019t the most thrilling stretch for any team. The standings hierarchies have largely been established, but the trade deadline remains more than two months away and the playoffs longer than that.<\/p>\n
The Hawks will walk into Wrigley Field on New Year\u2019s Eve \u2014 surely in some coordinated, over-the-top outfit theme \u2014 winless in Winter Classics. They lost to the Red Wings in 2009, to the Capitals in 2015, to the Blues in 2017 and to the Bruins in 2019.<\/p>\n
It would be ironic if this meager Hawks team was the one to break the streak, but it\u2019s conceivable \u2014 especially since these Blues are no juggernaut, either. When asked about the streak last week, captain Nick Foligno responded, \u201cWe\u2019re going to change that.\u201d Foligno, for the record, is 1-0 in Winter Classics, winning with the Bruins against the Penguins in 2023.<\/p>\n
The Hawks are a respectable 4-5-0 under Sorensen so far and have demonstrated an increased ability to keep up offensively against most opponents. During five-on-five play, their 49.2% scoring-chance ratio under Sorensen ranks 19th in the league, whereas their 43.5% ratio under Luke Richardson ranked 31st.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s common \u2014 almost expected \u2014 for teams to temporarily improve after coaching changes, though. The challenge will be maintaining this so-called \u201cnew coach bump\u201d long enough that it\u2019s no longer a bump.<\/p>\n
Thirteen of the Hawks\u2019 20 games in this middle portion being in Chicago should help with that. They\u2019ve been dramatically less terrible at home than on the road in recent years.<\/p>\n
By the time the February break rolls around, trade rumors and speculation ahead of the March 7 trade deadline will be the talk of the league. In the meantime, Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson would love for his best trade chips to play well and boost their values.<\/p>\n
This year, Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato \u2014 two pending free agents \u2014 will probably be Davidson\u2019s most prominent chips. Hall has surged since Sorensen\u2019s arrival, while Donato is enjoying a career year (leading the Hawks with 11 goals) and has the grittiness and consistency that playoff contenders crave. Fellow pending UFAs Pat Maroon, Craig Smith and Alec Martinez could also be shopped.<\/p>\n
Many recent talking-head comparisons between Bedard and Celebrini, the last two No. 1 picks, have been somewhat unfair to Bedard, but there\u2019s no denying the fact he\u2019s pacing behind production-wise. The Hawks sophomore has 30 points in 35 games; the Sharks rookie has 25 points in 25 games.<\/p>\n
Can Bedard, who has 11 points in nine games under Sorensen, rally back to a full point-per-game average? Will Celebrini eventually hit a wall? They\u2019re not directly competing for any awards, but it will be interesting to follow their parallel trajectories.<\/p>\n
The middle portion of the NHL season can be a bit of a slog, but there are still plenty of storylines worth following. Will the Hawks finally break their Winter Classic curse? Can they extend their new coach bump? Are their trade chips primed to boost their values? And will Connor Bedard catch up to Macklin Celebrini? There\u2019s still plenty of hockey to be played, and these questions will be worth watching.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the trade deadline for the NHL?<\/strong> Q: Who are the Blackhawks\u2019 top trade chips?<\/strong> Q: Who are Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard?<\/strong> Q: Can the Blackhawks still make a playoff push?<\/strong> Four Storylines to Follow During the Middle Portion of the Blackhawks Season The 2024-25 Season So Far The 2024-25 Blackhawks season hasn\u2019t captured much attention so far, and that\u2019s not going to change. Many fans aren\u2019t able to watch \u2014 conveniently at least \u2014 due to Chicago Sports Network\u2019s absence from Xfinity, and the team\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9152","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/af47380\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4700x2683+0+135\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F41%2F27%2Fd3a11b9845d09e93dd297ee37575%2Fblackhawks-6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9154,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9152\/revisions\/9154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nA: The 2024-25 NHL trade deadline is set for March 7.<\/p>\n
\nA: Taylor Hall, Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon, Craig Smith, and Alec Martinez are all pending free agents who could be shopped by the Blackhawks ahead of the trade deadline.<\/p>\n
\nA: Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard are the last two No. 1 picks in the NHL draft. They are currently competing for points per game averages.<\/p>\n
\nA: It\u2019s unlikely, but the Blackhawks could potentially make a push for the playoffs if they can string together a long winning streak and get help from other teams in their division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"