2026 Season Preview: Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks traded the fourth overall pick to try and speed up the rebuild. Will it be enough to put an end to their six year playoff drought?
The Chicago Blackhawks have won only one playoff series since their dynasty era of the early 2010s came to an end. With a new franchise icon fresh off signing a five-year extension, a big addition to their blueline, a surplus of budding stars, and the return of a franchise legend, the youngest team in the league will look to put their rebuilding past behind them and emerge as an exciting part of the NHL's future.
2025-26 Outcome
Regular Season Results: 29-39-14
It was another year lost in the limbo of a full rebuild, as the Blackhawks entered the trade deadline as major sellers, having fallen far out of playoff contention. Despite beginning the year strong, injuries to their young leaders—including 13 games without Connor Bedard—caused them to fall to the basement of the Central Division, and second-to-last in the entire Western Conference.
While losing is never fun, it was par for the course in terms of what was expected of them at this stage in their process. However, with their key offseason moves in mind, the time to turn things around is here, do they have what it takes? Let's break it down.
Who’s In and Who’s Out
The Blackhawks kept things pretty simple, at least in regard to who came in and out this offseason. They lost two defensemen and two forwards and replaced them with two defensemen and two forwards.
On the blue line, it’s pretty clear that Byram is an upgrade from Louis Crevier. We’ll talk more about that trade shortly, but replacing Matt Grzelcyk with Ian Cole feels like a downgrade. However, when you compare the two player’s results from last season, it could prove to be an upgrade.
In 69 games played, Grzelcyk had just twelve assists in a Blackhawks jersey. Despite being five years older, Cole is coming off a full 82 game season (his second consecutive) in which he registered three goals and 20 assists for 23 points. Cole may be turning 38 just after this season’s All-Star weekend, but in recent years, he has proven to be a more effective player than Grzelcyk. On a one-year deal and with an extremely limited free agent class, it’s not terrible business.
Up front, the big addition came more recently, as the rumored Patrick Kane reunion finally came to fruition. Signing a massive two-year deal with an AAV of $8 million, Kane will likely ride into the sunset of his career back where it all started in Chicago. He does help the team, specifically on the power play and when it comes to generating offense in their top six, but at this stage in his career, there are certainly limitations to his game, as well as injury concerns.
As for the rest of their moves, swapping Andre Burakovski and Ilya Mikeyev for Jordan Greenway and Cole Smith feels like a downgrade in skill, but makes sense in terms of roster construction. Bringing in a pair of good bottom-six role players allows some of those younger players the Blackhawks have to take on a larger role in which they will hopefully thrive this season. The long and short of it when it comes to Chicago’s offseason is that practically all of it rides on what Bowen Byram is going to be for them.
