Halloween is over. The holiday carols are going to start shortly and the NHL season is going to start heating up. Everybody has heard the stat about a team’s playoff chance if they are on the right side of the line by American Thanksgiving.
Well, we are officially in November and the Blackhawks are in the worst possible position. They enter play this month in 32nd place out of 32 teams. The San Jose Sharks jumped them with their head-to-head victory on Thursday night.
Final: San Jose 3, Chicago 2
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 1, 2024
The Hawks are 3-7-1 with seven standings points. The Nashville Predators also have 7 points but they are in 30th place because they have a game in hand and have beaten the Hawks already.
Although the Blackhawks don’t have any serious playoff aspirations, they certainly didn’t envision being this bad out of the gate. They made some good moves during the off-season but it wasn’t enough to help them win more games in October.
They can only go up from here. The most important thing is developing young players and it starts with Connor Bedard. The young center comes into November as Chicago’s leading scorer. He has three goals and six assists for nine points in 11 games.
There is more for Connor Bedard to give but he is a very young player trying to become a superstar. He is a sophomore NHL player coming off a Calder Trophy-winning season so he’s going to be just fine.
There are also other young players to keep an eye on in the organization. Guys like Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Nolan Allen, Ethan Del Mastro, and Colton Dach are a few examples of good young players already playing pro hockey. Some of them will even see the NHL at times this year if they haven’t already.
There are also a few players outside of pro hockey (NCAA, Major Junior) to be excited about. Chicago has the number-one ranked farm system for a reason.
Chicago’s division won’t make this season any easier. The Nashville Predators had the most exciting off-season with additions like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei so it is unlikely that they stay this far under.
With that in mind, there isn’t another Central Division team even close to Chicago at the bottom. Even if they avoid the 32nd place in the league, it will be hard to stay out of the basement of their division.
If the Hawks don’t want to be the worst team in the league, they need to have a good November. It starts on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Los Angeles Kings. They will then conclude their stay in California on Sunday night when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.
They will then finally return home to the United Center where Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings will await them. That will be an emotional game for more than one reason.
Other opponents this month include the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
It’s a tough spot to be in with all these good teams awaiting to play you but they have to learn how to battle adversity. This isn’t a skill that comes without development as an organization.
With veterans like Nick Foligno, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Seth Jones amongst others in the room, they have what they need to get a few victories in the coming weeks.
By the end of this month, they will feel much better about themselves if they find ways to win a few games and improve the process in which they win.
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