{"id":8821,"date":"2025-01-02T02:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T02:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8821"},"modified":"2025-01-02T02:53:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T02:53:21","slug":"after-winter-classic-debacle-where-do-the-blackhawks-go-from-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8821","title":{"rendered":"After Wi\u0274ter Classic debacle, where do the Blackhawks go from here?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Hawks\u2019 current NHL players, there\u2019s no help coming as the calendar flips to 2025. They\u2019ll have to somehow get through their remaining 44 games as competitively and proudly as possible.<\/h2>\n

\"Do<\/p>\n

The biggest thing the Blackhawks had to look forward to this season has come and gone, and it couldn\u2019t have gone much worse.<\/p>\n

The Hawks\u2019 6-2 blowout loss Tuesday at Wrigley Field turned what should have been the highest point in an otherwise inconsequential, unsatisfying season into the lowest point in retrospect. It was a debacle.<\/p>\n

But there are still 44 games \u2014 more than half the NHL season \u2014 left to play. It will be a long, fruitless slog, but it will happen. In that sense, there\u2019s a pretty clear answer as to where the Hawks go from here, literally at least.<\/p>\n

But figuratively, emotionally and culturally, where do they go from here? That\u2019s tougher to answer.<\/p>\n

With the new-coach bump now as flat as the Illinois prairies, it has become increasingly clear that coaching isn\u2019t why this team sits in last place. Luke Richardson\u2019s coaching may have been a <\/i>problem, but it wasn\u2019t the <\/i>problem. A coach more experienced than either Richardson or Sorensen might have been able to get slightly more out of this group, but not too much more.<\/p>\n

It has also become increasingly clear that general manager Kyle Davidson\u2019s offseason additions failed to improve this team as he expected. Any substantial judgment of Davidson\u2019s overall work as GM can\u2019t be made until seeing how the countless promising prospects he has drafted pan out, but he unquestionably has fallen short in that specific area.<\/p>\n

The 2024-25 Hawks are what they are at this point, though. As captain Nick Foligno has mentioned several times, including Tuesday night, there is no help coming.<\/p>\n

They will be sellers at the trade deadline, potentially dealing away pending free agents like Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato, certainly not acquiring any new players of note. And Frank Nazar, the one top-tier prospect who was NHL ready, has already been called up; there are no more Nazar-like moves coming in the next few months (before the college hockey season ends).<\/p>\n

\n
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\"After <\/picture>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson (left) and assistant general manager Norm Maciver (right) failed to improve the NHL roster this season.<\/figcaption>
\n

Michael Reaves\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking of prospects, Davidson and the front office will likely turn their attention more and more toward their development \u2014 away from this wreck of an NHL roster \u2014 as the season progresses, and fans would be wise to do the same.<\/p>\n

The Hawks\u2019 actual players, however, won\u2019t have that option. They\u2019ll have to somehow find ways to make the most of these 44 games and get through them as competitively and proudly as possible.<\/p>\n

To do so, they\u2019ll need to fix some underlying issues in their culture and collective work ethic \u2014 because while their lack of talent isn\u2019t addressable, those things are. Foligno discussed that recently with the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few games, we haven\u2019t really had the emotional attachment or focus that we need,\u201d Foligno said Dec. 28. \u201cThat\u2019s ignorant in a lot of ways, to be honest. That\u2019s unacceptable in a room that has a lot of veteran players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Blackhawks<\/p>\n

Foligno mentioned how many Hawks veterans have been part of championship teams elsewhere but haven\u2019t been able to bring those winning habits into Chicago. His theory is that on successful teams, individual off-nights can be covered up by teammates. But on these pitiful Hawks, there\u2019s not enough support to enable that inconsistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have a guy that will pick up the slack for you,\u201d he said. \u201cHere, everything is magnified. Every mistake you make usually ends up in the back of your net.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called for his teammates \u2014 and himself \u2014 to \u201cstart thinking, acting and approaching\u201d every game as if they alone need to carry the team to victory. Is such a dramatic mindset shift realistically attainable? Probably not. But as the Hawks move forward despondently into 2025, anything is worth a try.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of being like, \u2018Oh, poor me,\u2019 do something about that,\u201d Foligno added. \u201cSay, \u2018I\u2019m going to be that guy that\u2019s reliable and counted on every single time I\u2019m on the ice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the Hawks’ current NHL players, there’s no help coming as the calendar flips to 2025. They’ll have to somehow get through their remaining 44 games as competitively and proudly as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter Wi\u0274ter Classic debacle, where do the Blackhawks go from here? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=8821\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After Wi\u0274ter Classic debacle, where do the Blackhawks go from here? - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the Hawks' current NHL players, there's no help coming as the calendar flips to 2025. 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