The Chicago Blackhawks desperately needed a win after seven losses in a row, and they did so in style Sunday afternoon (Mar. 23) win an impressive 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Sure, the Flyers aren’t exactly juggernauts this season, and giving up four goals isn’t ideal. But a win is a win, and the Blackhawks will try to take this and build some momentum as they head to the finish line their disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
Some other good news that came out of this win was several Blackhawks hitting important milestones. It only feels appropriate to celebrate these achievements.
Veleno Earns 1st Points as a Blackhawk
Forward Joe Veleno joined the Blackhawks at the trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for goaltender Petr Mrazek and veteran forward Craig Smith. It must have been hard to go from a team fighting for a playoff spot to one sitting 31st place in the league. But the 25-year-old didn’t have much of a choice, and he had fallen out of favor in Detroit. Why not look at this as a new opportunity?
Veleno started his Blackhawks’ tenure on Mar. 8 against the Nashville Predators, playing on the fourth line and centering Pat Maroon and Lukas Reichel. It took him a few games to find his groove, but by his sixth game Veleno he was promoted to the third line and rewarded with more ice time.
It paid off in his seventh contest, when Veleno potted a goal against the Flyers.
Interim head coach Anders Sorensen praised Veleno’s efforts after the game.
I think his last two games, really good. It started in St. Louis there, we got him on the PK (penalty kill) and he was really aggressive, created some turnovers, made some plays. Him and Bert (Tyler Bertuzzi) have found something. They’ve been playing together a lot here. And you can see it in Bert’s production as well.
But he’s (Veleno) taken steps…When you’re traded for the first time in your life, and a lot of things going on, and you come to a completely new system and we play differently than Detroit. So it takes some time to adapt, and I think these last two games have been really good.
The Montreal native also tallied his first point with the Blackhawks later in the game, a secondary assist on a goal by Tyler Bertuzzi. Not a bad way to make his first big statement with his new team.
Veleno was selected in the first round (30th overall) by Detroit in the 2018 NHL Draft. He’s signed through the 2025-26 season with a cap hit of $2.275 million. While his career hasn’t been all that impressive so far, the Blackhawks are hoping a change of scenery will do him good. If nothing else, he could be a nice depth piece moving forward.
Bertuzzi Hits 300 Points
Speaking of Bertuzzi, the 30-year-old had a three-point game (one goal, two assists) against the Flyers. It turns out his goal was also his 300th career point.
circling back to the goal that gave Bert 300 NHL points👀 pic.twitter.com/wOIa6imJbm
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 23, 2025
Bertuzzi is known for his streaky scoring, and his lack of production has him demoted to the bottom-six forwards of late. But he’s now contributed two goals and six points in the last four games, so perhaps he’s back on track. And as Coach Sorensen said, he and Veleno “have found something.”
Donato Reaches 25 Goals
Um, who the hell is this Ryan Donato guy?! I’ve written about Donato’s career-year at length all season long. But instead of regressing to the norm, he just keeps adding to it. This “depth” forward that was supposedly on the bubble at the beginning of the season is currently the best producer on the team. In this recent contest versus the Flyers, Donato notched his 24th and 25th goals of the season, both on the power play.
His 25 goals is five more than second-place Connor Bedard, for the team high. Donato’s 28 assists and 53 points is currently third on team. To put his accomplishments into perspective, his previous career-highs were 16 goals, 18 assists and 30 points. It’s safe to say the Donatorator is killing it this season.
By the way, the Boston, Massachusetts native isn’t exactly just padding his stats with power play points. He’s contributed 20 of his goals and 40 of his points at even strength.
What makes Donato so effective this season? Well, he worked hard on improving his speed and his skating in the offseason, and Coach Sorensen attributed his success this season to his propensity to shoot and his positioning.
He’s got a sneaky way to find (goals). He’s around the net a lot. He gets his shot off a lot. And those things usually work well.
Sorensen also mentioned how invested and intense Donato is, and how he always wants feedback, whether it’s good or bad. Plus, he’s very upbeat. That sounds like the kind of guy who would be an incredible mentor to young players, doesn’t it?
Donato garnered plenty of interest at the recent trade deadline, but the organization held him at a very high value (a first round pick), and no deal ever came to fruition. The soon to be 29-year-old just started a family. He’s been forthright that he’d love to stay in Chicago and have some stability in his next contract. He and the Blackhawks are currently exploring an extension.
Bedard’s 20th Goal, Joins Eddie Olczyk in Franchise History
The Blackhawks’ new franchise cornerstone, Bedard, would be the first person to tell you he’s in a sophomore slump. Last season he missed 14 games due to a broken jaw, but in his 68 games played he registered 22 goals and 39 assists for 61 points.
This season, he’s currently at 20 goals, 36 assists and 56 points through 71 games. It’s true that Bedard has struggled this season, going long stretches without contributing. One would expect better production from this young player who’s touted as a generational talent. Right?
But let’s put this into perspective. Bedard is only 19 years old! He started in the league at the ripe young age of 18. As a matter of fact, this 20-goal marker by a teenager has only been accomplished by one other player in Blackhawks’ franchise history.
Connor Bedard joined Eddie Olczyk as the second @NHLBlackhawks teenager to record multiple 20-goal seasons.#NHLStats: https://t.co/GingpdgKWl https://t.co/DfRs8EisaX
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) March 23, 2025
Bedard has also contributed three goals in the last four games (plus an assist), so he might be heating up. He’s so young and still has so much to learn. Plus, there’s still 11 games left in this current 2024-25 campaign. The Blackhawks are only going to get better moving forward. Which will provide Bedard with even more support. It’s safe to say this young hockey player is doing just fine.
Maroon’s Words of Wisdom; Never Take It for Granted
We’d be remiss if we didn’t end with Maroon, who also tallied a goal and an assist in the Blackhawks’ Mar. 23rd win. But the big news was the contest before that, against the St. Louis Blues. St. Louis is where Maroon was born and raised, and he also hoisted the first of three Stanley Cups with the Blues in the 2018-19 season.
Consequently, he felt this would be the appropriate time to announce his impending retirement at the end of this season, which he did in a very emotional interview with Darren Pang before the matchup.
During the game, you could see Maroon taking it all in, appreciating the moment. At one point, the TV cameras caught him on the bench sitting next to Bedard, looking at him for a long time. Then he leaned over and gave him a reassuring pat on the leg. I imagine he was thinking, “Look at you, at the very beginning of your illustrious career. And here I am, at the end of mine. What a pair we make!”
Maroon also engaged in a fight (because of course he did!) with the Blues’ Tyler Tucker. Afterwards, as he was heading to the sin bin, you could see him looking up and around at everyone cheering.
Credit to the Blues; they gave Maroon a video tribute during the intermission and named him 1st Star of the game, even though the Blackhawks lost 4-1 and Maroon had zero points.
He offered up a few more words of wisdom after the win versus the Flyers, which goes right back to his earlier interaction with Bedard.
This is the only game I know…You never know when you’re going to score your last goal, right? This game has given me everything and more. I’ve always played like it was my last game no matter what happens…
Sometimes players take this league for granted and you don’t even realize how fast it really goes. I appreciate every day I’m in the NHL. I’m like a little kid. Every shift, every goal, every point, every fight. You get to do it on the main stage in front of 18,000 fans every night. So, I’m still a kid putting on my skates…I just love the game, and I appreciate it so much.
Maroon is an absolute class act, and was a great leader and mentor for this team. The Blackhawks were so lucky to have him, even if it was for just one season.
Chicago has 11 more contests to go in their 2024-25 season. It’s been a tough campaign, which is why these milestones are all the more important. Can the team finish off their season on a high note? Does it really matter?
Of course it does! These milestones are leading the way to the next era for the Blackhawks. If the team can stay the course, the above achievements will eventually amount to many, many more.
