Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks' 5 Questions Heading Into All-Star Break

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:30 a.m. ET

Fansided, Colin Likas/FanSided via Blackhawk Up

Even sitting near the top of the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks have plenty of questions heading into the All-Star break

Is there ever a professional sports team that has no questions surrounding it at some point during a season? The New England Patriots when they keep rattling off wins? The Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers? The Chicago Cubs even as they won the World Series?

Even the Washington Capitals right now, lighting up everyone in sight with a blistering offense, probably have a question regarding if they can carry this regular-season success through the playoffs. After all, this team has choked on big stages before.

So there’s no doubt the Chicago Blackhawks, who have battled through uneven play through the month of January, are facing questions ahead of today’s final game before the All-Star break. The Blackhawks are second in the Central Division and Western Conference, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.

There are concerns after certain games, of course, and Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay had some fans feeling for the ledge. That seems terribly premature a reaction, but I’ll say the Blackhawks do have some questions to answer in their break from in-season action.

Let’s take a look at five questions the Blackhawks need to address following Thursday’s game against Winnipeg and ahead of Tuesday’s game against San Jose.

Apr 25, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) replaces goalie Scott Darling (33) in the first period in game six of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

How do the Blackhawks split starts between Corey Crawford and Scott Darling moving forward?

Let’s just say both of these guys stay healthy for the rest of the regular season. How does coach Joel Quenneville split up their workload moving forward?

Crow has not looked the same since coming back from his appendectomy earlier this month. He seems a little sluggish side to side and is getting beat by some shots he normally stops (not that his defense is doing much for him on many nights).

Darling, meanwhile, has looked good in relief work, and looked good for a stretch when Crow was sidelined. It led to Q expressing a desire to get Darling some more work moving forward, with his next opportunity coming tonight against the Jets.

Crow is your incumbent starter, no matter how much some fans may gnash their teeth over it. He’s not going anywhere, and he’s going to get the bulk of the starts. There will be 31 games left after tonight’s affair, so how does Q split them?

The easiest place to start in this analysis is looking at back-to-backs. The Blackhawks have five remaining, with two in February and three in March. So unless the Blackhawks desperately need points, You’d have to imagine that works out to five starts for Crow and five for Darling.

After that, you have 21 games to account for. I think, in a perfect world, Q would be fine with a 2-to-1 ratio of starts, meaning Crow would get 14 and Darling seven. That would equate to 19 for Crow and 12 for Darling to close the regular season.

But even that still seems like a stretch, as Crow would finish with 51 starts for this season if that played out. That’d be well below his start totals in previous seasons, with the last three hitting 58, 57 and 59.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, though. If Darling continues to play well, why not give Crow some more down time? Sure, it might throw him off if he does get in another good groove (and there’s no reason to believe he won’t), but it could also be beneficial.

I’m guessing the totals wind up closer to 21 starts for Crow and 10 for Darling after the break. But we’ll see how the Blackhawks play their hand.

Jan 24, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Tanner Kero (67) passes past Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson (9) during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

What moves can be made to boost the bottom six?

This has been an area filled with question marks all season. A little bit of clarity gets put into play when Marcus Kruger returns, perhaps tonight. But it’s still a bit of a mess, with Marian Hossa technically playing on the bottom six right now.

I think guys you’d be happy with having in the bottom six are Kruger, Vincent Hinostroza, Dennis Rasmussen, Tanner Kero, Ryan Hartman and Richard Panik. Long-term, I don’t think Hartman and Panik are guys you want to hold top-line spots, though they’ve fared better with Jonathan Toews in the last couple games.

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Andrew Desjardins is showing little flashes here and there, but he’s still without a point this season, and the Blackhawks need offensive push out of the bottom six. If you’ve read any of my stuff, you know I don’t think Jordin Tootoo should be anywhere near the starting lineup.

So that’s six guys to choose from. Perfect. Except, then there’s Nick Schmaltz and the possibility of Tyler Motte returning.

Now, there’s a chance these guys are involved in trade negotiations at the deadline, which I guess you could say for some of the other names above, too. But that’s at least eight guys I’d say the Blackhawks should feel comfortable rolling on their bottom six moving forward.

So honestly? I don’t think the Blackhawks have to make any moves to improve their bottom six, minus a recall of Motte. They just have to stay healthy, get the lines organized and get Desjardins and Tootoo stapled to the press box wall.

Of course, this leaves a hole at the top of the lineup. So let’s address that question next.

What do the Blackhawks do to bolster their top-line left wing spot?

This has been a question since Brandon Saad was shipped to Columbus in the 2015 offseason. And the Blackhawks still don’t have an answer, trying everyone from Andrew Shaw to Hartman in the role.

I don’t think Hartman is necessarily a bad fit there, I just think his skillset is better suited to him running over weaker foes on the bottom six. I think Toews needs more-skilled athletes to work with on both wings than what he currently possesses.

Ultimately, I think Hossa winds up back on Toews’ right wing. So then it’s a talk of whether you want to break up the second line to get Artemi Panarin or Patrick Kane on the other wing or if you want to dip into trading for a forward.

The Blackhawks’ last foray into this effort landed them Andrew Ladd and left them with an underperforming forward who signed with the New York Islanders the following offseason. This doesn’t mean general manager Stan Bowman should be gunshy this time around.

The Blackhawks have reportedly kicked the tires on Detroit’s Tomas Tatar and Gustav Forsling. I think either guy would be a good improvement at top-line left wing, someone to capably keep up alongside Toews and Hossa.

Patrick Sharp‘s name has been tossed about, but he’s such a liability right now with his concussion issues. I’m not sure the Blackhawks would be comfortable trying to fill such an important role with an aging, injured wing.

Maybe a team like Tampa Bay, which has good parts but finds itself in serious trouble in the playoff picture, would be willing to part with an asset. What would it take to get Jonathan Drouin this time around? Faxes From Uncle Dale kicked around the idea of Valtteri Filppula or Jannik Hansen being options.

There are ways Bowman could be looking at this we can’t even imagine. But ultimately, I think he’s going to make a trade to fill this void. While the Blackhawks can comfortably staff their bottom six without a trade, the same can’t be said for this position.

What are the Blackhawks going to do with their defense?

This is the simplest way I can word this question, broad as it may be. Because there are numerous issues to go over right now (even if this group is still better than last season’s unit).

The Blackhawks are currently carrying seven defensemen, and they have a few more with NHL experience sitting in Rockford. The group has seen its struggles, and Coach Q has some weird trust issues regarding Michal Kempny while putting ultimate trust in Trevor van Riemsdyk.

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Now, there has been small talk of the Blackhawks possibly pursuing a blueliner at the deadline, but I don’t think they need to do that. They have the pieces for a capable enough blue line to support Crow and Darling. It’s just getting things in order.

Duncan Keith isn’t playing up to snuff, but he isn’t going anywhere. Niklas Hjalmarsson has been the No. 1 defenseman at times this season. Brent Seabrook is the No. 3.

After that? Well, I still think Kempny is No. 4, but Q obviously doesn’t agree with that. Brain Campbell hasn’t been all we expected, but he’s plenty capable as a No. 5 defenseman.

We know what Michal Rozsival is, but counting on him to keep up with various speedy teams down the stretch is a sketchy proposition. TVR … isn’t going anywhere, but also is doing more harm than good at this rate.

Gustav Forsling is sitting in the AHL right now, as are Erik Gustafsson, Viktor Svedberg and Ville Pokka. Three of that foursome have some NHL experience.

Honestly, this might be an even more difficult question to answer than the top-line left wing issue. Q is never going to bench TVR, it seems, and he might not ever fully trust Kempny.

I would like to see Keith, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Kempny and Campbell play regularly. I’d also like to see Forsling again, but I’m not sure if he’s ready for an everyday grind. That No. 6 D spot is a question mark, and if the Blackhawks are seriously considering adding a top-line forward, they probably won’t be able to add a defenseman at the deadline as well.

They’ll have to work with what they’ve got. Is it good enough to make a serious Cup run? We’ll see.

How badly do the Blackhawks need home-ice advantage?

Right now, it looks like the Blackhawks will be battling with the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks for home ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs. Nashville and Edmonton could make runs (and I guess St. Louis could, too), but it seems to be a party of four fighting for that honor right now.

Question is, how badly do the Blackhawks need it? Well, I would say it’s pretty important, and thus they need to break their winter malaise sooner rather than later.

It’s not that the Blackhawks are bad on the road — their 12-9-1 mark is pretty good, though surpassed by Minnesota’s 15-5-5 record. It’s just that the Blackhawks would really, really benefit from getting last change more often than not in a seven-game series.

We don’t know for sure what the Blackhawks will or won’t do by the trade deadline, so there’s always a chance this team doesn’t change much. If that’s the case, the Blackhawks would need a serious amount of production from the top six to compete in the postseason.

As a result, that would require Q to make appropriate line shifts so these lines can get favorable matchups. By the same tokens, you wouldn’t want to put whoever the staff settles on as the 5/6 D out against an opponent’s top forwards.

The Blackhawks often seem to have this “We’ll see where we are once the stretch run starts” attitude to the middle of the season. It may have ultimately hurt them last season, as they really could’ve used home ice in at least the first round of the postseason against St. Louis.

The Blackhawks would be wise not to let slip away an opportunity to get home ice, through at least some portion of the playoffs. That requires continued winning, especially when the Wild just won’t stop piling up points.