NHL Christmas Break Special: Have The Blackhawks Improved?

After Monday’s loss in Minnesota, the Blackhawks have reached their Christmas break – they aren’t quite halfway through the season, but the break is usually seen as a good halfway point. It’s also a good time for teams to reflect on and analyze what they’ve done so far. At 12-21-2, Chicago hasn’t exactly lived up to heightened expectations this season. While the Blackhawks have underperformed as a whole, the team is getting exactly what it needs from its most relevant players.

The Bad

There’s no question that the Blackhawks aren’t where they want to be with a veteran roster designed to win more games than last year. Many signings made over the summer, like TJ Brodie and Craig Smith, haven’t done much to help the team. Laurent Brossoit, of course, has been the worst surprise of all – does he even exist? Chicago hasn’t exactly been clear about the status of the high-caliber goaltender, but he’s barely been seen with the team this year and hasn’t left injured reserve.

Of course, we can’t talk about “the bad” without talking about the recent firing of head coach Luke Richardson. Richardson was a great defense-oriented coach, but the Blackhawks simply couldn’t score under his direction. The decision to move on from him was clearly a good one…

The Good

The Blackhawks still haven’t been a great team with interim head coach Anders Sorensen at the helm, but they’ve clearly been better – by enough that Sorensen has earned himself healthy consideration to get the permanent job at the end of the year. The former IceHogs bench boss has directed the Blackhawks to a 4-5-0 record since taking over, and the on-ice product looks vastly improved. Chicago is generating way more offensive pressure, scoring more goals and playing a more exciting game.

One of the biggest changes that came with the coaching change was a mid-season youth movement in Chicago. The most fun part about the Blackhawks right now is that we’re seeing great things out of their future stars. Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan and others have all looked terrific, which makes it exciting to be a Blackhawks fan. The defensive unit in particular is completely stacked – young stars like Alex Vlasic, Korchinski, Allan and Wyatt Kaiser have looked terrific this season while superstars like Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel are on their way.

There’s no question the defense keeps improving, but perhaps the best part about the Blackhawks this season has been between the pipes. With Brossoit coming in this summer, the expectation was that he and Petr Mrazek would share the net. Rockford had already announced Drew Commesso would be the full-time starter in the AHL, so that hung Arvid Soderblom out to dry. With Brossoit out for much of this season, however, the 25-year-old took full advantage. After being perhaps the worst player at his position in the NHL a season ago, Soderblom has enjoyed an unbelievable turnaround. He now boasts a .911 save percentage and keeps his team in nearly every game he plays, boasting better “goals saved above expected” numbers than the likes of Jonathan Quick and Ilya Sorokin. He turned the Blackhawks’ future goaltender room from a big question mark to the cornerstone of the team, and he’d have my vote for Chicago’s most improved player and most pleasant surprise.

Merry Christmas, Blackhawks fans!