The 2026 Winter Olympics are over, and the 2026 Trade Deadline is just over a week away. In the meantime, the Chicago Blackhawks resume their season tonight when they visit the Nashville Predators. There are a few storylines to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.
Jeff Blashill Lineup Decisions
My biggest pet peeve is when NHL head coaches think sitting their young players will help their development. There are exceptions, of course. Making Artyom Levshunov sit after playing arguably his worst stretch of hockey since being drafted was the right move. Sometimes players are drowning and need help, but scratching Ryan Greene before the Olympic break did not sit well.
Related: Blackhawks Send Wrong Message by Scratching Ryan Greene, Need to Prioritize Young Talent More
With 25 games left in the season, the Blackhawks are 10 points out of the playoffs. They’re out of the race, so the rest of this season should be about making sure young players earn ice time. More lineup spots should open after the deadline, as management moves out some veterans on expiring deals. This should allow the Hawks to give more minutes to players like Greene, Nick Lardis, and potentially Anton Frondell to close out the season.
How Does Connor Bedard Perform?
Coming into the season, Bedard was motivated to make the Canadian Olympic team. He did not acheive that goal after being snubbed by Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong. However, Bedard has exceeded expectations and is starting to look like the player most people thought he would be when he was drafted first overall in 2023.
It will be worth keeping an eye on whether his performance drops now that there isn’t much to play for. The playoffs are out of reach, the Olympics are over, and he isn’t chasing any big milestones. I know he struggled after coming off a shoulder injury before the break and he is just beginning to take faceoffs again, but these next 25 games will be important to gauge his engagement.
The best players in the league find ways to produce even when it isn’t easy to get up for games. Bedard has played a lot of ‘meaningless hockey’ early in his career. What makes this different is that he has played his best hockey at the NHL level this season, and it would be a shame if his play drops off now that there isn’t a proverbial carrot dangling in front of him.
Some may say his pending contract negotiations could be that dangling carrot, as he comes off his entry-level deal this summer, but what happens in these last 25 games won’t change anything about the offer he will get.
Blackhawks Youth Development
This is the most important. Wins and losses don’t matter at this point in the season, and fans would probably want losses more than wins to get a better draft pick. What matters now is how the young Blackhawks perform, especially those who will be around when the team becomes a contender.
Nick Foligno’s goals are cool and getting good performances out of Tyler Bertuzzi is fun, but how much does it really matter for the Blackhawks’ future? What I’m looking for is progress. I wrote an article about Levshunov’s development path, and how it hasn’t been all that pretty. I also said fans need to be patient with him. Blashill sat him in the press box before the break, and rightfully so. He needed a breather because he was drowning in his own end. Now we will see if Levshunov finds his footing defensively and makes improvements.
Lardis will probably be called up from the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, once one of the veteran forwards is moved at the deadline. He’s played 21 games with the Blackhawks this season, posting five goals and two assists, but his stat line in the AHL has been really impressive (16 goals and 30 points in 31 games). I don’t have expectations for Lardis when he joins the Blackhawks. I want to see if he can find a similar level of production or at least generate opportunities at the NHL level.
I’ll also be watching Sam Rinzel. He got into the lineup in place of Levshunov when he was struggling and impressed with great rush defending and some solid plays in his own end. He has played more than just recently, but his game really popped before the break. I want to see more of Rinzel and if he can remain consistent.
These are just a few things the Blackhawks need to be aware of in the final stretch of the season. The games might help a playoff push, but who plays will matter, as will Bedard’s continued development. The team is stacked with young talent that will make them a playoff team sooner rather than later.
