Welcome to our offseason initiative — 30 teams in 30 days.
From July 16 until Aug. 14, we’ll be dedicating each day to a new team by recapping the offseason and looking ahead to 2012-13.
There will also be a series of posts looking at key stories, player profiles and burning questions regarding each squad.
Today, we continue with the Chicago Blackhawks.
However you feel about the fervor regarding Patrick Kane’s off-ice exploits, that might be the story of Chicago’s offseason. That’s because this is largely the same team.
Sure, the Blackhawks flirted with Martin Brodeur (and maybe Roberto Luongo), yet ultimately they’ll roll the dice with Corey Crawford and Ray Emery once again.
And yes, there was some scuttlebutt of them adding more of a good thing with Zach Parise (and perhaps still Shane Doan?), yet their forward group likely remains the same - which isn’t really a bad thing.
Perhaps their fate merely improved by remaining idle, though.
The St. Louis Blues are no longer “a secret,” the Detroit Red Wings lost Nicklas Lidstrom, the Columbus Blue Jackets traded Rick Nash and the Nashville Predators watched Ryan Suter walk away.
Does that make the Blackhawks early favorites for the Central Division crown? We’ll explore the team’s biggest questions today at PHT.