The Chicago Blackhawks are once again at a crossroads, and it’s been a familiar story for anyone following the team over the past half-decade. But is there a way for this group, one that has plenty of new faces, to salvage a season that’s guaranteed nothing but a rough start so far?

I’ll never say a team, even some of the worst in the league, should look forward to the 2025 offseason in November 2024. But the Hawks do need a few players to bring their absolute best game this month and next if they don’t want to start looking ahead to the summer when January 1st rolls around.

So, I’ve listed three players who must step up their respective games ASAP if the Hawks want to make November 2024 at least a somewhat successful endeavor. Who made the list, why, and what has made them valuable to the team so far?

Tyler Bertuzzi

Don’t get me wrong: Tyler Bertuzzi has been lighting the lamp often with four goals in 13 contests, good for a 14.8 shooting percentage. But he’s been doing nothing else in that span, as those four goals comprise his only four points despite an average total ice time of 16:04.

Overall, he needs to be a more physical, grittier player, and we’re not seeing that. Now, in his defense, Bertuzzi has been a pivotal player on the man advantage, with the Hawks scoring six times while he’s been on the ice, good for an on-ice shooting percentage at 5-on-4 of 15.4. He’s also converted a pair of power play goals.

Bertuzzi has been a journeyman lately, but the Blackhawks brought him in to be a pivotal part of this rebuild, and that hasn’t been the case just yet.

Jason Dickinson

I was hoping to see Jason Dickinson at least get close to his 22-goal season that he enjoyed last year, but he’s nowhere near on pace to match it. Thus far, Dickinson’s found twine just once in 13 games, putting him on pace for between six and seven goals this season.

Realistically, I didn’t see Dickinson snagging 22 goals again, but somewhere between 16 and 19 wasn’t out of the question. Yet while he hasn’t been scoring, nor has he been winning faceoffs the same way he did last year, Dickinson has helped the Hawks in other ways, judging from an on-ice shooting percentage of 12.3 at even strength.

This means every time the Hawks find themselves playing at even strength, and Dickinson is on the ice, they’re scoring roughly one-eighth of all the shots fired toward the net. Further, many of his draws are coming in the defensive zone, with only 25.5 of his faceoffs occurring in the offensive zone.

Still, if he can find a way to find the net more, Dickinson should provide some serviceable supplementary scoring.

Alex Vlasic

You may shake your head at this one since I had more than a few critical words to say for Tyler Bertuzzi and Jason Dickinson, but that’s not why I have Alex Vlasic listed. Instead, Vlasic is here because he’s been playing some good hockey in all three zones, and November 2024 is a prime opportunity for him to more than step up his play and become an ultra-high-impact player during a pivotal month.

I’m not saying November 2024 will decide whether this will be another throwaway season for the Blackhawks, but if they play the same way they did in October but Vlasic improves his play even more, Chicago’s chances of pulling off an upset or two will have skyrocketed.

So far, he’s got seven points, all assists, in 13 games, plus 36 blocks and 11 takeaways, and the Hawks on-ice shooting percentage with him on the ice is an incredible 13.4 percent at even strength. Let him step up his play even more, and watch the Hawks get that much closer to relevancy.