Blackhawks’ 10 most important positive developments from another lost season

Look, I can sit up here in the United Center press box and bang out another dour dirge about how poorly the Blackhawks played for much of Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, how mentally checked-out some of them seem to be, how excruciating this rebuild has been and continues to be, how distant those memories of titanic Kings-Hawks spring clashes seem and how distant that promise of future ones seems to be.

Lord knows Debbie Downer over here can do it. At this stage of the rebuild, it’s like asking Billy Joel to play “Piano Man.” I know the damn tune. I can do it with my eyes closed.

But do you really want to read that? Do you really want me to tell you how Anders Sörensen, when I asked him if it was getting difficult to keep his guys mentally locked in, pointed to how well the Blackhawks actually started the last two games before the wheels fell off as proof that it wasn’t? Only to watch the Blackhawks get outshot 18-3 in the first 17 minutes against the Kings, falling behind 2-0?

Do you want to read about how even though Connor Bedard scored for the second straight game, it’s only his third goal in the last 15 games, as he’s been burdened by unreasonable expectations and too many unworthy linemates? Do you really want to be reminded that the Blackhawks will undoubtedly be hiring a fifth coach in 4½ years this offseason, as Sörensen’s interim stint comes to a close?

Can’t imagine you do. You’re tired of reading it. I’m tired of writing it. And, whoops, I just did it again, anyway.

We all understand the Blackhawks’ situation by now. It’s not a secret. But is it really as bleak as things seem? As things feel? Are we missing the forest for the trees? Yes and no. Things are bad. There’s no escaping that fact. But with just a few weeks left in the season, I thought it might be cathartic and a welcome change of pace to focus on the positives the 2024-25 season has brought. Because, believe it or not, there are a whole bunch.

Here, in no particular order, are the 10 most important positive developments from this Blackhawks season. (Not counting the fact that it’s mercifully almost over. Whoops. Sorry. Force of habit. Last time, I promise.)

Frank Nazar looks legit: Don’t be distracted by Nazar’s modest stat line of six goals and 10 assists in 40 games. The kid can flat-out play. Most nights, he’s the fastest guy on the ice. And he’s as relentless and explosive as advertised when the Blackhawks traded Kirby Dach to the Canadiens in order to take him at No. 13 in 2022. He’s one of the few guys on the roster who never seems to take a night off, and his joyous, upbeat demeanor is infectious on the bench and in the locker room. This won’t be another salvage-what-you-can project like Lukas Reichel. Nazar’s a keeper, and should be a fixture in the Blackhawks top six for years to come.

Arvid Söderblom’s rebound: Söderblom was the second-worst goaltender in the league last season, giving up 12.99 more goals than expected, per Evolving Hockey. His rebound control was awful, he was swimming in the crease, and he won just five games in 29 starts. Kyle Davidson had seen him as a future No. 1 when the season began, but by the summer had signed Laurent Brossoit to replace him. Brossoit’s endless injury gave Söderblom another shot, and he ran with it. He hasn’t been perfect, and he’s faded a bit in the second half, but Söderblom has looked every bit an NHL goalie this season, with a positive 3.16 GSAx. He’s only 25, and the future looks bright.

Spencer Knight’s arrival: Well, he wasn’t going to have a .951 save percentage forever. But Knight’s two losses to San Jose and Seattle shouldn’t detract from the fact that the Blackhawks now have two legitimate NHL goalies just entering their primes (Knight was excellent on Thursday, making 30 saves). To go from 33-year-old Petr Mrázek and 31-year-old Brossoit to 23-year-old Knight and 25-year-old Söderblom — and to have it be an upgrade in the present, not just the future — is a massive development for the Blackhawks. Clearing (most of) Seth Jones’ contract for the next five years doesn’t hurt, either.

Artyom Levshunov’s expedited rise: News of Ivan Demidov’s prolific scoring earlier in the KHL season surely left Blackhawks fans uneasy, to say the least. Especially after Levshunov missed training camp with a broken foot and then struggled early on in his first AHL season. Even when he was called up earlier this month, the expectation was that he was still a project of sorts, a messy cowboy sort who had a lot of developing and maturing to do before he could become a full-time NHLer. Instead, he’s been pretty darn impressive — making smart plays defensively but showing off his quick trigger and aggressive offensive instincts when warranted. He’s already running PP1, and seems better suited to the NHL than the AHL. He might still be sent back to Rockford before the season ends, but it won’t be because he can’t hack it in the NHL. He’s ready. Already.

Blue line build-up: Levshunov’s not alone on the back end. Wyatt Kaiser, after a corrective stint in Rockford, has looked excellent — and far more offensive — since his recall at the beginning of the month. He’s actually a plus player at five-on-five this season, a massive achievement on this team. Add in the steady Alex Vlasic, already the No. 1 defenseman at age 23 and showing a lot more offense this season, and the eventual return of Kevin Korchinski, and the Blackhawks have the makings of a heck of a top-four for the foreseeable future. With Ethan Del Mastro, Louis Crevier and Nolan Allan proving capable bottom-pair defenders, and the intriguing Sam Rinzel perhaps arriving before the end of the season, Davidson’s plan of building from the back end is showing real signs of progress.

Ryan Donato’s career year: Is Donato a top scorer in the NHL? No. Not on just about any other team. But on the Blackhawks, he’s done yeoman’s work providing some support for Bedard, with career highs of 23 goals, 28 assists and 51 points. He plays like his hair is on fire every game, and at just 28, he’s still got some prime years ahead of him. There’s a good chance he re-signs for a few years, providing a little depth to the forward group — and a great role model on how to work hard and maximize your talent — as the next generation works its way up the lineup.

Ilya Mikheyev is a player: Funny how two of the best Davidson acquisitions were cap dumps that the Vancouver Canucks deemed so unwanted that Chicago landed second-round picks as sweeteners for each of them. Jason Dickinson was a revelation last season, and Mikheyev has been one this season. We knew about Mikheyev’s speed, but we didn’t know about his defensive prowess. He has the highest expected-goals share of any Blackhawks regular, and is just a minus-4 at five-on-five despite routinely taking on opposing teams’ best lines. He’s an expert penalty killer, and has 15 goals, to boot. He’s just a real nice player, the kind of middle-six guy every team can use.

The youth movement is real: The Blackhawks started the season as one of the oldest in the league, with Davidson filling the lineup with 30-somethings to buy the kids more time. But as the year has gone on, the room has gotten younger and younger, and the vibes have gotten higher and higher. Veteran Nick Foligno has poured his heart and soul into trying to build a positive, winning culture during his transition captaincy, and he’s gotten a huge boost from the injection of youthful energy into the roster.

Nobody exemplifies the mood change quite like Nazar, who never seems crushed by the pressure of playing in the NHL at such a young age.

“Honestly, it’s what you dream of as a kid,” Nazar told me last week. “Why let that pressure and other people take that away? … (The youth movement) has been really nice. Basically all the younger guys started the year in Rockford together, so we got to build a rapport and chemistry down there. And then being able to all be up here at the same time and all working on our game and getting experience under our belt, it’s been a lot of fun.

“Just keep playing and smiling.”

You know who used to talk like that? All those guys who played for Rockford in the mid-to late-2000s and became champions together in 2010.

Buyouts are manageable: Tyler Bertuzzi has been a significant disappointment this season, the first of a four-year contract that makes him the highest-paid player on the team (not counting, uh, Shea Weber). T.J. Brodie has been a healthy scratch for the last nine games, unable to find the form he had in Calgary and Toronto earlier in his career. He’s signed through next season. But, if Davidson chooses to do so, he can buy out both of them with minimal impact on the Blackhawks’ big picture. Bertuzzi would carry a $3.7 million cap hit next season, $2.9 million the following year, $2.52 million in 2027-28, then $1.22 million over the next three years. With the cap skyrocketing, it’s a minor nuisance, at most. Brodie would carry a $3.2 million cap hit next season (no problem as the Blackhawks won’t be a cap team yet), and just $258,333 the following season. If Davidson wants to clear the decks, it won’t be difficult.

The calvary’s coming: It could take a while before Bedard and Nazar have real help in the top six from the prospect pool, and there’s certainly no guarantee Mitch Marner wants to come to Chicago regardless of how much money Davidson throws at him (and he will throw a lot of it at him). But forward help is on the way. Oliver Moore is coming, perhaps as soon as a couple of weeks. Ryan Greene, too. Nick Lardis, who has 71 goals in 64 OHL games this season, is on his way. And the Blackhawks are all but assured a top-four pick in the draft, meaning one of the elite forwards — James Hagens, Porter Martone or Michael Misa — will be there for the taking.

It won’t happen overnight. Prospects take time, even the great ones. But after three truly miserable seasons, full of forgettable evenings like Thursday against the Kings (who won again? I can barely remember and you barely care), the worst finally could be behind the Blackhawks.

And that might be the best development of them all.

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