The Blackhawks’ rebuild probably isn’t going to happen as quickly as the Rangers’ rebuild did, despite Jonathan Toews’ optimism.
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The Blackhawks’ poor luck in the draft lottery Tuesday — officially sending their 2022 first-round pick to the Blue Jackets but guaranteeing they’ll keep their 2023 first-round pick — foreshadows a 2022-23 season filled with many more losses.
General manager Kyle Davidson now has good reason to design next season’s team to be as bad as possible, maximizing the Hawks’ draft position so they can land an elite prospect to help propel their rebuild.
It remains to be seen exactly how aggressive Davidson will be this offseason with dismantling the roster, and the decisions that stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane make regarding their no-trade clauses will affect what he has to work with. But it seems nearly certain the Hawks will be one of the NHL’s worst teams next season.
In fact, it shouldn’t be surprising, considering how open Davidson was during his introductory news conference, that this rebuild could take three to five years or longer.
But the Hawks’ core players seemingly — and forgivably — don’t seem to be listening to that. One by one during their late-season interviews, they argued similar rhetoric about the rebuild potentially taking much less time than anticipated.
“We might lose more games than we win, but that’s obviously never the goal,” winger Alex DeBrincat said. “If we come out hot or doing well, there’s no point to rebuild after that, right?”
Said Kane: “There are parts of our team [strong enough] that we can come back next year and can surprise some people and win a lot of hockey games. I really, truly believe that.”
Added Toews: “That’s an opinion that Kaner and myself definitely share and we deserve to express. Like we’ve seen with other teams, things can turn around pretty quickly. If a lot of different guys are given the right environment and right opportunity and keep taking steps forward, things can turn around pretty fast. It’s a fine line these days in the league.”
Only center Tyler Johnson — who may well stick around for a while, given the two overpriced years remaining on his contract — seemed hesitant in his response.
“I’ve seen teams rebuild, [and] I’ve seen it go both ways,” Johnson said. “Either it’s quick and they get back on track pretty quick, or there’s teams that can’t quite find it. Kyle’s a very smart guy, so I think he understands what he needs to do, and we have a lot of good pieces here. It’s going to be interesting, the route that everyone goes.”
It’s impossible to fault any of these players for wanting to see the Hawks succeed, wanting to aid that process or wanting a reason to stay motivated. Players never play to lose, nor would management want them to. Even the Coyotes this past season, for example, tried their best most every night (and indeed won 25 games) despite being a team designed to tank.
Kane, Toews and …read more
Source:: Chicago Sun Times
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