Chicago Blackhawks 2025-26 Centennial Season

[Tim]

I'm hoping they come up just short and the NHL actually does rig the lottery for the Hawks to get McKenna

[Hot Sauce]

45 minutes ago, Tim said:

I'm hoping they come up just short and the NHL actually does rig the lottery for the Hawks to get McKenna

I really don't think they're a playoff team... yet. They should remain in the WC conversation beyond the Olympic break though. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

4 hours ago, Hot Sauce said:

Dude, the Hawks have been so much fun to watch this year. Hope you get to see a banger. 

I'm looking forward to it. The Krakens digs are the old Seattle Sonics arena they renovated for the Kraken a couple of years ago. That, and as I stated above, Bredard owes us all a hat trick and hopefully I'll get to see it

 

lol

 

 

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

4 hours ago, Tim said:

I'm hoping they come up just short and the NHL actually does rig the lottery for the Hawks to get McKenna

Give me one of McKenna, Verhoeff, Stenberg, Lawrence, Roobroeck, Belchetz and I will be happy. Would love McKenna, but the Hawks are not desperate for McKenna. 

 

[Tim]

12 minutes ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

Give me one of McKenna, Verhoeff, Stenberg, Lawrence, Roobroeck, Belchetz and I will be happy. Would love McKenna, but the Hawks are not desperate for McKenna. 

 

I would love one more bite at the top player in the draft apple, then have another couple decades before we're back there again.

[NorthsideAvenger]

1 hour ago, Tim said:

I would love one more bite at the top player in the draft apple, then have another couple decades before we're back there again.

Obviously Connor Bedard's cousin is the prize, but this draft is top heavy. If the Hawks don't get McKenna, it's not the worst thing in the world, especially if they land one of those other players. 

[jersey cubs fan]

On 10/20/2025 at 7:19 PM, minnesotacubsfan said:

alright you guys convinced me. I just picked up two tix (me, wife) for B'Hawks vs Kraken. Had a gift cert burning in my pocket, excited to use it. Berard owes me a hat trick. He owes us all

 

 

 

3 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

I'm looking forward to it. The Krakens digs are the old Seattle Sonics arena they renovated for the Kraken a couple of years ago. That, and as I stated above, Bredard owes us all a hat trick and hopefully I'll get to see it

 

lol

 

 

 

Just pick one way to misspell it and stick with that 

[Hot Sauce]

13 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

 

Just pick one way to misspell it and stick with that 

Maybe its Bryan Berard who owes him the hat trick, in which case, I'm afraid I've got some bad news for him.

[jersey cubs fan]

Looks like Chicago is going 11/7 avain tonight in Tampa, and rumor has it Lukas Reichel will be playing on the top line with CB and TB. But Connor will also get a lot of time with Donato and Greene as the 10th and 11th forwards that aren’t part of a complete line. Foligno is back and centering third line while Dickinson is out with an injury and Burakosvsky hadababyitsagirl. 

Is this a showcase game for Reichel’s trade value? 

One time Blackhawks prospect that never was will be debuting for Tampa after he rejected Chicago last spring. Tampa is obviously the better NHL team but the much weaker farm system gives him a better shot at climbing the ladder. 

[Hot Sauce]

5 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Looks like Chicago is going 11/7 avain tonight in Tampa, and rumor has it Lukas Reichel will be playing on the top line with CB and TB. But Connor will also get a lot of time with Donato and Greene as the 10th and 11th forwards that aren’t part of a complete line. Foligno is back and centering third line while Dickinson is out with an injury and Burakosvsky hadababyitsagirl. 

Is this a showcase game for Reichel’s trade value? 

One time Blackhawks prospect that never was will be debuting for Tampa after he rejected Chicago last spring. Tampa is obviously the better NHL team but the much weaker farm system gives him a better shot at climbing the ladder. 

I love Dach in the right role, which isn’t with Bedard, so happy to see him slotted back in where he should be in the bottom 6.

Reichel has been good recently. Maybe it’s a trade audition or maybe he’s found some favor with the new coaching staff.

11/7 has worked, so may as well keep rolling with it.

[minnesotacubsfan]

20 hours ago, jersey cubs fan said:

 

Just pick one way to misspell it and stick with that 

A normal person might be embarassed. Me? Nah

 

lol sry guys

 

 

[Hot Sauce]

I love this team!

[squally1313]

[NorthsideAvenger]

The Lightning did outplay the Hawks tongiht. With that said, I was impressed with the fight this team showed. 

[BigbadB]

Frickin' game was not on CHSN last night. How many times will I miss games this year because of that? I mean, I'm only paying $30 a month for this horsefeathers.

[jersey cubs fan]

11 hours ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

The Lightning did outplay the Hawks tongiht. With that said, I was impressed with the fight this team showed. 

A year ago this team isn’t winning games like that, outplayed by superior opponents. Failing to capitalize on a 5 on 3 and a double minor, Bedard bloodied and held off the scoresheet. 
 

earlier this week I mentioned the hawks were sitting in the top wild card spot but had played more games than all of the better teams right below them. They are still very likely to drift away from this top spot, but there is currently nobody within 2 points of them that has played fewer games. But they are only one of 6 teams in the west with positive goal differential. 

These guy are talented enough to make things interesting for a couple wannabe contenders that may start feeling desperate as the holidays approach. 

[NorthsideAvenger]

Lukas Riechel went from being #98 linemate for the first two periods to being benched in the 3rd period. If that is not Richel's career in Chicago in a nutshell, 

[bukie]

Going by ELO, the Hawks are still just 31st (ahead of San Jose) in terms of efficiency, which isn't great.

Going by SRS, which is more of an analysis of production, the Hawks are currently in the 3rd tier of NHL teams, above average compared to the league.

By that stat, there are effectively 6 tiers of teams at the moment:

Great teams: Carolina, Colorado, New Jersey
Good teams: Vegas, Pittsburgh, Washington, Utah
Pretty good teams: Winnipeg, Columbus, Chicago, Anaheim, NY Islanders, Montreal
Average teams: NY Rangers, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto
Bad teams: Los Angeles, Buffalo, Detroit, Edmonton, Vancouver, Florida, Dallas, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Nashville
Terrible teams: San Jose, St. Louis, Ottawa, Calgary

Granted, we're only 10% of the way through the season, but they're clearly out of the bottom tier of the league right now, which is something fun after 3 years of awful.

EDIT: I think the difference between their ELO and their performance highlights how good Knight has been in goal, as he's helped the Hawks steal at least a few points thus far.

Edited October 24, 2025 by bukie

[Hot Sauce]

[jersey cubs fan]

Assuming that’s the 4th rounder they gave up for Mikheyev.

 

[Hot Sauce]

And that concludes the sad end to Reichel’s Blackhawks career. At one time, I had high hopes for him. Speed is certainly there, but the hockey sense always seemed to be lacking. I hope he finds some success with Vancouver.

[NorthsideAvenger]

When Blashill benched Reichel in the 3rd last night, you knew Riechel being traded was inevitable. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

5 hours ago, bukie said:

Terrible teams: .........St. Louis, .....

music to my ears

[BigbadB]

Who are they replacing Reichel with?

[Hot Sauce]

Just now, BigbadB said:

Who are they replacing Reichel with?

Slaggert was just activated. They've also been rolling with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen, which is working.