(670 The Score) As the Blackhawks finished their exit interviews Wednesday morning following the end of a 2021 season that resulted in a sixth-place finish in the Central Division and no playoff berth, president of hockey operations Stan Bowman and coach Jeremy Colliton acknowledged the team needs to be better in many areas.
“We need to have improvement probably across the board,” Bowman said. “There were aspects that we did well, but I think probably finding consistency – you know, in stretches, both special teams were really dominant over periods of time. Probably didn’t have the ability to stretch that out for the whole season. You know, our power play ended up in the top 10. But the first, probably, 30-40 games we were top 5, so the power play wasn’t as strong down the stretch. The (penalty kill) was kind of the inverse of that. So I think what we’re looking for is more (consistency).
“It’s strange, you look around the league, and it’s kind of a common phenomenon across all teams, where it’s really hard to maintain that for a full season. There tends to be some ebbs and flows and you’re trying to minimize that a little bit.”
Playing without star Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks went 24-25-7 in the shortened 56-game season of 2021 and missed the playoffs for the third time in four years. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014-'15, Chicago has only reached the playoffs three times and also exited in the first round each time. The Blackhawks were encouraged by the flashes of potential that their young core showed at certain points throughout this past season, but both Bowman and Colliton stressed the importance of taking the proverbial “next step” and turning that potential into reality.
“We have a lot of candidates, which is very encouraging,” Colliton said when asked about which players he expects to get closer to their ceilings next year. “Guys like (Adam Boqvist) and (Alex DeBrincat). It wasn’t their first year in the league, it was their second or third or fourth. Once you get that base under you, understanding what it takes to play every night and contribute, then you’re kind of in the position to take another step, and I think Alex is a perfect example of that. He really broke out, and I thought he had one of the elite two-way seasons in the whole league this year. So guys (Brandon) Hagel, Kirby (Dach), (Pius) Suter, (Philipp) Kurashev, (Wyatt) Kalynuk, all those guys who’ve now played a year, it’s an opportunity to take another step.”
As for specific improvements, consistent execution was a common answer from the Hawks’ brass. Bowman mentioned that when the Blackhawks were “on their game, (they) can be a really effective team” but still lacked “the consistency you need if you want to be a top team.” A woeful stretch of play to begin the season – and another that briefly resurfaced in March – hampered the Blackhawks from making any late playoff push. And compounded with a condensed season, Colliton thought the second half really wore the young group down.
“We definitely made progress -- mentality wise, especially obviously early, skating and pressure on the puck and work ethic away from the puck, then we had it more," Colliton said. "Then we were able to create those transition chances and create more zone time. Offensively, draw more penalties and the results followed. I thought as the year went on, the young players in their first seasons were such a big part of that – that drive that we had in our team and such a big part of being competitive. I thought as the season went on, the schedule and just the load of games, not so much physically, but mentally, wore them down a little bit. We had a hard time keeping that level up.
“To me, that’s how we’re going to be an elite team again -- by sustaining that type of approach for longer.”
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.