As October creeps closer, another NHL season creeps with it.
In the 29th of a series of team-by-team summer reviews and season previews, here's a glimpse at the ...
Chicago Blackhawks
Entering 2016-17 with three Stanley Cup titles in the previous seven seasons, the Blackhawks had high hopes for a rebound from 2015-16, when they had a third straight 100-point season but couldn't advance past the first round of the postseason. Another 30-goal campaign for Patrick Kane headlined production from a familiar, title-winning core as Chicago locked up a return playoff berth, and a 20-4-2 stretch from February through March helped it leapfrog a record-breaking Minnesota Wild team on the way to its first Central Division crown in four years. A plus-31 goal differential, another big season from goalie Corey Crawford and a top finish in the Western Conference (50-23-9) couldn't save the Blackhawks from a stunner of a sweep in the opening round of the playoffs against the Nashville Predators.
General manager Stan Bowman promised big changes after Chicago's abrupt exit, a back-to-back disappointment for a team conditioned to postseason dominance, and he delivered over the summer with a top-line shakeup. Still, most of the regulars are intact, so the biggest question remaining could very well be whether Bowman's shakeup was monumental enough.
The moves
Key additions: F Brandon Saad (trade with Blue Jackets), F Patrick Sharp (Stars), D Connor Murphy (trade with Coyotes), F Lance Bouma (Flames), F Tommy Wingels (Senators), G Anton Forsberg (trade with Blue Jackets)
Key losses: F Artemi Panarin (trade with Blue Jackets), D Niklas Hjalmarsson (trade with Coyotes), D Trevor van Riemsdyk (Hurricanes), G Scott Darling (trade with Hurricanes), F Marcus Kruger (trade with Golden Knights), D Johnny Oduya (Senators), D Brian Campbell (retired), F Tyler Motte (trade with Blue Jackets), F Dennis Rasmussen (Ducks)
Other teams like the Dallas Stars might have outdone the Blackhawks in big-name moves, but as a whole, Chicago was as active as anyone this offseason, starting with the blockbuster swap of Panarin for Saad before free agency. In some ways, the Blue Jackets seemed to get the better of the Blackhawks merely because, for the second time in three years, Chicago all but mortgaged one of its premier scorers thanks to anticipated contract demands it wouldn't be able to meet. But Saad, a younger and more well-rounded two-way player than Panarin who apparently was also missed by former teammate Jonathan Toews, is still a solid addition thanks to his history with the team. Ditto with Sharp.
As much as new (old) faces figure to bring to a locker room that'll be without a recovering Marian Hossa in 2017-18, though, the Blackhawks also lost quite the handful of contributors from a year ago. Panarin, of course, was about as promising of a play-maker as you could hope to have through two NHL seasons. Aside from him, Chicago parted with a defensive pillar in Hjalmarsson, another regular blue-liner in van Riemsdyk and an ultra-sturdy backup goalie in Darling. More concerning than those losses, an unsurprising but unfortunate product of a top-heavy club strapped for salary cap space, is the fact that Bowman's replacements are far less proven.
The verdict
Playoff success -- or the lack thereof -- is obviously a big factor in considering teams' Stanley Cup potential. Just look at the Blackhawks' own Central Division rivals, the Wild, who are still trying to figure out how to translate immense regular-season success into a first-round postseason victory. But it's hard to hold Chicago's past two opening-round slip-ups against them, not only because they've reeled in a trio of titles since 2009-10 but because, outside of the playoffs, the Blackhawks have combined for a 97-49-18 record (212 points) over the past two seasons. Now, with Toews warmly welcoming back Saad and Kane still producing at a high level, they have the makings of a "never say never" comeback story after their whimper of a playoff exit against the Predators, complete with lots and lots of good postseason experience.
And yet, at the same time, the Blackhawks also appear on the verge of deterioration from the inside as they fight off the repercussions of big salaries. No matter how you slice it, losing Panarin, Hjalmarsson, Darling and a slew of others (a group that essentially includes Hossa) in the same offseason is not by any means a promising sign. Two of the team's top four defensemen are at least 32 years old, and another is Murphy, who never topped 17 points in four seasons for the Coyotes. Even if Bowman's bold look back to the future for help from Saad and Sharp ends up bolstering the offense, the defense will be dealing with a transition behind Crawford, where Forsberg brings just 10 games of NHL experience in place of the departed Darling.
In a division where the Wild seem primed for another top-ranked offensive performance, the Predators should return to the postseason in better standing, the Blues could vie for a deep playoff run and the Stars should be far more competitive, the Blackhawks don't necessarily have an easy path to vengeance in 2017-18. Their track record is hard to bet against, so expecting another playoff run isn't out of the question. They're the Blackhawks, remember? But the question marks aren't lacking here, and the nostalgia of Chicago's summer moves isn't going to erase them entirely.
