Chicago Blackhawks 24-25 Season Preview

Chicago Blackhawks
Central Division

2023-24 Recap
Record: 23-53-6
Over/Under: 32-43-7
Home Favorite: 3-1
Home Dog: 12-24
Road Favorite: 1-0
Road Dog: 6-34
Win Score 4 or more: 15 of 23
Lose Give Up 4 or more: 39 of 59
Puck Line Wins: 10 of 23
Puck Line Losses: 44 of 59
Front End Back-to-Back: 4-8
Back End Back-to-Back: 2-10
Goals Scored Per Game: 2.17 (32nd)
Goals Against Per Game: 3.52 (29th)

Additions: Teuvo Teravainen, Laurent Brossoit, Tyler Bertuzzi, TJ Brodie, Ilya Mikheyev, Craig Smith, Alec Martinez, Pat Maroon
Subtractions: Sam Lafferty, Colin Blackwell

Only the San Jose Sharks finished with a worse record than the Blackhawks last season. Rookie sensation Connor Bedard led the team in points (61), assists (39) and was tied for the team lead in goals (22). The Hawks turned over a third of their roster in the offseason adding seven veteran players that they hope will bring more scoring.

Offense
The objective in the off-season for General Manager, Kyle Davidson, was clear. Find scoring help for Bedard. For the second consecutive season the Blackhawks finished dead last in offense. After scoring just 202 goals in 22-23 Chicago took a further step back with just 178 goals last season. The Hawks were shutout 11 times and held to a goal or less, 32 games. Chicago had just 8 players last season that scored more than 5 goals.
To improve the offense, Davidson went out and signed former Blackhawk, Teuvo Teravainen, and added Tyler Bertuzzi to help strengthen the top six forward group. The duo had 25 and 21 goals respectively. A healthy Taylor Hall returns after playing just 10 games as the result of an injury that required knee surgery.

Defense
Chicago locked up their future on the blueline in the summer, signing Chicago native Alex Vlasic to a six-year contract for just under 28 million dollars. Three-time Stanley Cup Champion, Alec Martinez as well as TJ Brodie were added to the back end and provide veteran experience. Hawks fans are very familiar with Martinez. His overtime goal in the 2014 Western Conference Final eliminated the Blackhawks when Martinez was a member of the LA Kings.

Goaltending
Chicago added veteran goalie, Laurent Brossoit in the off-season to pair up with Petr Mrazek to form the new goaltending tandem in Chicago. Brossoit started a career high 22 games last season for the Winnipeg Jets and has had a 927 save percentage each of the past two seasons. Surgery in late August could lead to Brossoit missing the start of the regular season. With a healthy Brossoit, expect close to a 50/50 split of the goaltending duties between the two. Last season Mrazek started a career high 53 games as backup Arvid Soderblom struggled in his first full season as the number two goalie with a 3.92 GAA and an 880 Save Percentage.

Player to Watch – Connor Bedard
He is the main reason to tune into Blackhawks games. Bedard spent the off-season training back home in Vancouver and according to Elliotte Friedman and the 32 Thoughts Podcast he looks “thicker”. While I am not expecting Bedard to put up triple digit point numbers like McDavid and Crosby posted in their second season, surpassing his projected point total of 82.5 points (DraftKings Sportsbook) is very realistic.

Outlook
Chicago has missed the playoffs for six of the past seven seasons and though they have made upgrades to the roster they are still a team in transition. They may finish last in the Central Division but I would expect them to be better than the 52 points they put up last season

Regular Season Points: 73.5 (Over -110, Under -120)
To Make the Playoffs: +900
To Miss the Playoffs: -1600
To Win the Central Division: +10000
To Win the Western Conference: +7500
To Win the Stanley Cup: +15000