Chicago Blackhawks: 2021-22 NHL season preview

By James O'BrienSep 14, 2021, 11:00 AM EDT

Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2021-22 NHL season is coming and it’s time to take a look at all 32 teams. Over the next month we’ll be examining best- and worst-case scenarios, looking at the biggest questions, breakout candidates, and more for each franchise. Today, we preview the Chicago Blackhawks.

2020-21 Season Review

• Record: 24-25-7 (55 points); sixth place in Central Division
• Postseason: Missed playoffs
• Offensive leader: Patrick Kane (56 games, 15 goals, 51 assists, 66 points)

• Free Agent Additions: Seth Jones (trade from Blue Jackets), Marc-Andre Fleury (trade from Golden Knights), Tyler Johnson (trade from Lightning), Caleb Jones (trade from Oilers), Jake McCabe, Jujhar Khaira.
• Free Agent Subtractions: Adam Boqvist (trade to Blue Jackets), Pius Suter (Red Wings), Duncan Keith (trade to Oilers), Brent Seabrook‘s contract (trade to Lightning), Nikita Zadorov (trade to Flames), John Quenneville (Kraken expansion draft).

Biggest Question Facing the Blackhawks

• What if the Blackhawks are wrong about Seth Jones?

Frankly, it’s reasonable to wonder if Stan Bowman should have even remained as Blackhawks GM this offseason. Considering shaky job performance, and most importantly some profoundly ugly allegations, perhaps someone else should have been making these calls.

But, right or wrong, Bowman kept his job as Blackhawks GM. And he didn’t exactly play it safe.

In what ended up being an offseason where NHL teams kind of lost their minds about the value of defensemen, the Blackhawks set a defiant tone by gambling on Seth Jones.

The quality of picks and prospects was staggering, alone. Then add that eight-year extension (with a $9.5M cap hit), and the Blackhawks are betting the farm on Seth Jones. While the Blackhawks made several other significant/medium-sized moves, they’ll really pay if the chickens come home to roost with this bet on Seth Jones.

What’s the salary cap situation?

There’s some dark irony to the path the Blackhawks could have taken this offseason. While the salary cap has been a huge concern for basically Bowman’s entire run, the team presented a relatively clean slate.

Blame Bowman being desperate to keep his job, or merely deciding to make a radical makeover, but now things are quite a bit messier.

Again, they didn’t just add Seth Jones for his contract year. They’re now committed to him for nine seasons. Following the 2021-22 season ($5.4M), Jones will carry that $9.5M cap hit through 2029-30.
For better or worse, Bowman made other significant investments in defense. Between signing Jake McCabe and extending Connor Murphy, most of Chicago’s term goes to the blueline.
They spent the wiggle room from trading Duncan Keith’s contract — and then some.
Apply that to moving Brent Seabrook’s deal off the books. We could look back at the Tyler Johnson trade as the Blackhawks doing the Lightning muliple favors with one swap.

Time will tell if the Blackhawks’ defense got a lot better, or merely took baby steps.

Either way, it’s fascinating how open-ended their roster is, otherwise.

[PHT’s 2021 NHL Free Agency Tracker]

Both Marc-Andre Fleury and Kevin Lankinen enter contract years, so the future is cloudy for goaltending. Tyler Johnson and Brandon Hagel lead the forwards group term-wise, and that’s just with three-year deals apiece.

So big decisions loom. Jonathan Toews‘ and Patrick Kane’s matching $10.5M cap hits expire after the 2022-23 season. Alex DeBrincat also is only on the books for two more seasons, and should expect a big bump from his bargain $6.4M cap hit.

Looking at Cap Friendly, the Blackhawks are squeezing to the salary cap ceiling in 2021-22. They’re projected to have almost $23M in cap space next offseason, and then $57.5M after the 2023-24 campaign.

With that in mind, they could make big changes even if the Seth Jones experiment is a failure. That said, the Blackhawks aren’t exactly a cheap gamble in 2021-22, either.

Breakout Candidate

• Kirby Dach

If it weren’t for a wrist injury, maybe last season would’ve served as Kirby Dach’s breakthrough year.

Despite being limited to 18 games played, Dach received a healthy 18:34 TOI per game. On average alone, that’s a healthy bit more than prominent forwards such as Dylan Strome and Pius Suter. Not bad for a big forward who’s just 20 years old.

After the Blackhawks somewhat surprisingly allowed Suter to leave for nothing in free agency, the door’s open that much more for Dach to excel.

By scoring 23 points in 64 games as a rookie in 2019-20, and 10 points in 18 games last season, Dach has already proven he can produce at the NHL level.

Line combinations can change, and often. Still, it’s promising that Dach is penciled in on the top line with DeBrincat and Kane, at least by Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Understatement: such assignments tend to boost your numbers.

Best-Case Scenario for 2021-22 Blackhawks

Seth Jones makes no mistake about his status as an elite defenseman. Aging or not, Marc-Andre Fleury backs up his first Vezina win with another stellar campaign. Players like Dach erupt, while Jonathan Toews returns without missing a beat. Jeremy Colliton proves he can put together a strong system if you give him the needed personnel. With that, the Blackhawks don’t just make the playoffs; they even flirt with former glories.

Worst-Case Scenario for 2021-22 Blackhawks

All of those red flags about Seth Jones weren’t just red herrings. Their defense remains a disaster, and a 36-year-old Fleury simply can’t clean up those mistakes. Out in Columbus, Adam Boqvist makes a big leap, and rapidly gains on Jones as the best player in that trade. Then again, maybe the picks the Blackhawks gave up in the Jones trade would end up yielding the best player involved? More ugly information surfaces from the lawsuit, shining an unflattering light on the decision to keep Bowman around as GM. The Blackhawks end up being a disaster both on and off the ice.

Pointsbet – Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup odds

+4000 (PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.)

—

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Flyers trade Pride-night boycott defenseman Provorov in 3-team deal

Associated PressJun 6, 2023, 10:12 PM EDT

Dennis Schneidler/USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Ivan Provorov, sending away the defenseman who boycotted the team’s Pride night as part of a three-team trade that included the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings.

The seventh overall pick of the 2015 draft, the 26-year-old Provorov lands in Columbus and is set to enter the fifth season of a $40.5 million, six-year contract. He was the centerpiece Tuesday of the first major move under new Flyers’ leadership.

There were plenty of moving parts in the three-team deal.

— Philadelphia traded Provorov and forward Hayden Hodgson to Los Angeles in exchange for goalie Cal Petersen, defenseman Sean Walker, defenseman Helge Grans and the Kings’ 2024 second-round pick. The Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs.

— Columbus acquired defenseman Kevin Connauton from Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) and a conditional second-round pick in either the 2024 or 2025 NHL Draft. Columbus acquired Provorov from Los Angeles in exchange for Connauton.

The Flyers already hold the No. 7 pick in this season’s draft and now also have the 23rd pick as they start accumulating key assets for long-range success in what is expected to be a deep draft.

Flyers general manager Danny Briere had said no player was untouchable after the Flyers missed the playoffs for the third straight season and went to work with the Stanley Cup Final still underway. The Flyers named broadcaster Keith Jones team president last month and he is still working the Final for TNT. But it’s clear the overdue rebuild is underway for a franchise that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in 48 years.

“We felt that the picks and the direction that we wanted to go in, it was really enticing, very exciting,” Briere said. “We have a chance to really start building the team the way we wanted. The right way.”

Briere said the Flyers are “open for business” this summer and that included potentially listening to offers for No. 1 goalie Carter Hart. Coach John Tortorella, Briere and Jones have all tempered offseason expectations for any fan looking for a quick fix. The trio all insist the Flyers have a cohesive plan for the future.

Provorov had 65 goals and 217 points in 532 career games with the Flyers. The Russian was widely criticized in January when he cited his Russian Orthodox religion as the reason he did not participate in pregame warmups when the Flyers wore Pride-themed jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow Pride tape.

“I respect everybody’s choices,” Provorov said after the game. “My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion.”

Now, he’s traded during Pride month.

Briere said the backlash over Pride night had nothing to do with trading Provorov.

The Blue Jackets, who missed the playoffs this season, were ready to take a flier on a defenseman seemingly with many productive years ahead.

“Improving our blue line has been a priority for us and acquiring Ivan gives us an established left-shot defenseman who is still a young player with his best seasons in front of him,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “He immediately improves our group on defense as he is durable, has great skill, skates well, is an excellent passer with an accurate shot and can effectively play at both ends of the ice.”

Provorov said at the end of the season he wasn’t necessarily happy the Flyers planned to rebuild but understood the decision. Briere declined to say if Provorov wanted out of Philadelphia.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the most positive news you can hear, but there’s a bright future here, and there’s a lot of great players that can keep growing,” Provorov said in April. “Obviously, it depends on how quick everybody gets better and how quickly the team game gets better. I think that’s what determines the length of the rebuild.”

Turns out, the potential success out of the haul the Flyers got for Provorov just may determine the length of the rebuild.

Golden Knights take 2-0 lead in Stanley Cup Final with 7-2 win over Panthers

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 11:49 PM EDT

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

LAS VEGAS — No team in over 25 years has been more dominant than the Vegas Golden Knights through the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final.

They have outscored the Florida Panthers by eight goals, including a 7-2 victory in Game 2 that put the Knights two wins from the first championship in the franchise’s short six-year history.

It will take a rare rally for the Panthers to come back as the series shifts to Florida for Game 3 on Thursday. Teams that took a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final are 31-3 in the expansion era, but the Panthers opened the playoffs by storming back from 3-1 down to beat the heavily favored Boston Bruins.

Florida will have to significantly up its level of play to beat a Vegas team that won by three goals on Saturday and then five in this game. The last team to win the first two games of a Cup Final by more than eight combined goals was the 1996 Colorado Avalanche – who outscored the Panthers by nine.

“I think our depth has been a strength all year,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It is the biggest reason we are still here, why we beat Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dallas. I just feel that we have the best team from player one through 20.”

Jonathan Marchessault scored twice for the Knights and started an early blitz that chased Sergei Bobrovsky, the NHL’s hottest postseason goalie.

Marchessault also had an assist to finish with three points. His 12 postseason goals set a Golden Knights record, with all of them coming after the first round. The only player with more following the opening round was Pavel Bure, who scored 13 for Vancouver in 1994.

“They want to set the tone with being undisciplined like Game 1 and we set the tone back,” Marchessault said. “It was scoring that first goal there. But we’re still pretty far from our goal here.”

Brett Howden scored twice for the Knights, who also got goals from Alec Martinez, Nicolas Roy and Michael Amadio. Six players had at least two points for Vegas, all 18 Knights skaters were on the ice for even-strength goals and their nine goal scorers through the first two games are a Stanley Cup Final record. The Knights’ seven goals tied a franchise mark for a playoff game.

It was too much for Bobrovsky, who was removed 7:10 into the second period down 4-0. It was the fifth time in 12 games the Knights have chased the opposing goalie.

Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, carried Florida through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Coming into the Stanley Cup Final, he had won 11 of his past 12 starts with a 1.95 goals-against average and .942 save percentage during that stretch. But he’s given up eight goals in 87 minutes against Vegas, compiling a 5.52 GAA and .826 save percentage in the series.

“We can be a little better in front of our goaltender,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I got him out to keep him rested.”

Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell scored for Florida.

Adin Hill continued his stellar play in net with 29 saves for the Knights. Hill once again brought his feistiness as well as his A-game. He stopped Carter Verhaeghe on a breakaway in the first, and later that period hit Tkachuk, who was in his net, with his blocker and then slashed him with his stick.

“He’s been unreal for us,” Vegas forward William Carrier said. “He’s been unbelievable.”

A group of four fans behind one of the nets wore sweaters that spelled out his last name, and Hill has often received the loudest cheers from Knights fans, reminiscent of when Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal for Vegas in its first three seasons.

“It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing hockey,” Hill said. “I’m just enjoying it, cherishing every day. It’s been awesome to be part of the journey with this team.”

The Knights were dominant early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Marchessault and Martinez. It was Vegas’ third game in a row with a power-play goal, its first such stretch since Christmas week.

The Panthers lost their biggest, toughest defenseman early in the game when Radko Gudas was injured on a hit by Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev. Gudas left 6:39 in and did not return.

That was one of several big hits by Barbashev, the Golden Knights’ biggest trade-deadline acquisition, a Stanley Cup champion with St. Louis in 2019. Barbashev broke the sternum of Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard during the playoffs last year, also on a clean hit.

Vegas had its own scare late in the second period when Jack Eichel was nailed in the right shoulder by Tkachuk. Eichel returned in the third and set up Marchessault’s second goal for his second assist of the game.

“We did a good job managing momentum tonight,” Eichel said. “And we got some timely goals.”

Ducks hire former Leafs, Islanders assistant Greg Cronin as head coach

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 2:18 PM EDT

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Anaheim Ducks have hired veteran NHL assistant and AHL head coach Greg Cronin to be their new head coach.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek announced the decision to hire the 60-year-old Cronin, who will be a first-time NHL head coach.

Cronin has 12 years of experience as an NHL assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in two stints with the New York Islanders. The Massachusetts native has been the head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles since 2018, and he spent six years as a collegiate head coach at Northeastern.

Verbeek called Cronin “the ideal fit” to take over a young, rebuilding team.

“I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players,” Verbeek said. “Greg has done all that and more.”

Cronin replaces Dallas Eakins, whose contract wasn’t renewed in April after the Ducks finished their fourth consecutive losing season of his tenure. Anaheim finished in last place in the overall NHL standings at 23-47-12.

The Ducks never finished higher than sixth in the Pacific Division during Eakins’ four years in charge. They’ve missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five straight seasons, and Anaheim was the NHL’s worst defensive team of the 21st century by several measures during the just-completed season.

Cronin takes over a struggling team that is still loaded with young talent, including the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming draft and a wealth of farm prospects seemingly ready to break into the NHL. Anaheim has a solid long-term base with playmaking center Trevor Zegras, two-time All-Star Troy Terry and promising forward Mason McTavish.

Cronin has never led an NHL bench, but he interviewed for the Boston Bruins’ vacancy a year ago.

He becomes only the Ducks’ fourth permanent head coach since Henry and Susan Samueli bought the franchise from Disney in 2005, joining Randy Carlyle, Bruce Boudreau and Eakins.

Canadiens sign Cole Caufield to 8-year, $62.8 million extension

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT

David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens signed Cole Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8 million contract extension.

The deal, which will pay the 22-year-old winger an average annual salary of $7.85 million, runs through the 2030-31 season.

Caufield scored 26 goals and added 10 assists in 46 games in 2022-23 before he underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder in February.

Despite missing nearly half the season, Caufield led the Canadiens in goals for the second consecutive season, tied with Nick Suzuki.

Montreal selected Caufield in the first round (15th overall) of the 2019 draft.

Since making his NHL debut in 2020-21, the forward has 84 points (53 goals, 31 assists) in 123 NHL games.