Probably will need to revisit that question a year from now.
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They definitely didn’t want or expect to be the 2nd worst team in the league last year, but they certainly weren’t ready to contend for the playoffs.
In theory it’s still early in the rebuild, most of their best prospects are either not here yet or are yet to play a full season’s worth of games (Frondell, Kantserov, Rinzel, Lardis, Moore, Nestrasil, Vanacker, Boisvert). And evidence of this still being earlier in the process than it feels like is that they have the #1 or #2 rated prospect pools in the NHL - the bulk of the team they’re building isn’t here yet or just got here.
It’s just frustrating that a tear down rebuild in hockey like this is a 6-7 year process. And there are no longer any good free agents in hockey, nor do teams need to unload salaries right now due to the rising cap. So the timing of the big cap increase was really bad for the Blackhawks, not only for those reasons but because Bedard and all other guys they want to re-sign will have to be signed at the new higher cap numbers. Whereas other teams have longer-term contracts locked in that were scaled to the old cap numbers.
I’m not sure if it’s going to work but I do think it’s generally going as planned to this point. This coming season will be the first one where the bulk of the roster will be made up by guys that actually matter for the future, so now we’ll really start to get answers. I do think they’ll still be bad but hopefully a lot of guys showing real promise.
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When something is happening, young people like to say it’s “lit.”
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Message Thread | This response ↓
 NHL Playoffs - bbonb April 26, 2026, 13:38:06
- Corey Pronman (The Athletic) asked 6 NHL scouts to predict the top picks in the draft - OB25 Yesterday, 21:53:57
- Montreal had 1 shot on goal in the last 37 minutes* - Orangeillini May 25, 2026, 22:36:51
- I feel like everyone (players, fans, coaches, refs) would be happy if offsides reviews went away. - OB25 May 25, 2026, 21:28:21
- I am annoyed with the Blackhawks - OB25 May 19, 2026, 12:55:31
- I went to a game in December. They have been all over me since trying yo get me.. - Ron McDon May 20, 2026, 11:23:51
- huh - no blackhawks points? goddammit* - cpsteine May 19, 2026, 13:52:53
- Wow that's pathetic penny pinching. Are you going to renew?* - gullit May 19, 2026, 13:12:16
- Chicago Blackhawks: really good 20% of the time, absolute ass 80%.* - Warrin'_Illini May 19, 2026, 13:05:29
- Somewhere the Old Man is smiling* - KingTalkyTiki May 19, 2026, 13:03:12
- Sorry Buffalo and Sabres fans, you're a great fanbase that deserves success like this and more. - KingTalkyTiki May 18, 2026, 21:52:54
- Free hockey!* - timmer May 18, 2026, 21:36:10
- Game 7 OT alert. * - assassin May 18, 2026, 21:19:45
- Bonkers scoring tonight* - timmer May 14, 2026, 18:36:49
- Nice job by TNT to totally mute the Buffalo crowd noise on this broadcast. - OB25 May 14, 2026, 18:27:11
- this Montreal crowd is fuckin fired up* - assassin May 12, 2026, 18:09:33
- Corey Pronman from The Athletic joins the list of those mocking Stenberg at #4* - OB25 May 11, 2026, 13:23:41
- Kantserov terminates KHL contract - bjl63 May 8, 2026, 19:54:36
- There is the real possibility that Carolina may go 11 days between games - timmer May 8, 2026, 9:06:35
- Scott Wheeler mock - bjl63 May 7, 2026, 8:59:50
- Really nice goal by Kirby Dach - KingTalkyTiki May 6, 2026, 19:43:23
- Mtl buf this round is a travesty. Should be east finals* - John Coctostan May 6, 2026, 18:04:30
- Already seen multiple mock drafts from reputable people that have Stenberg going 4th - OB25 May 6, 2026, 11:37:37
- Just to put the Kyle Davidson tenure into some perspective - CanHartlebHireSnider May 6, 2026, 10:44:55
- Two things I’d push back on - OB25 May 6, 2026, 18:56:34
- Even if you bump the timeline back to when they drafted Toews - RVA May 6, 2026, 16:31:07
- I know people disagree and I hope I’m wrong, but that Lev pick was a disaster* - cpsteine May 6, 2026, 15:02:20
- And they keep trading for contracts to get to the floor rather than actually get players to the ice* - illini222 May 6, 2026, 11:27:08
- Yet still in the NHL's Top 5 average home attendance - KingTalkyTiki May 6, 2026, 10:58:27
- Who should they sign? Who should they trade for? - bjl63 May 6, 2026, 10:53:12
- Never much in-between with the Hawks. Either very good or completely hopeless. - Warrin'_Illini May 6, 2026, 10:50:34
- Cool cool another project defenseman most likely - CanHartlebHireSnider May 5, 2026, 18:35:15
- *Deep sigh** - KingTalkyTiki May 5, 2026, 19:28:01
- I hear they love Malhotra - bjl63 May 5, 2026, 19:07:16
- What a disaster. Bedard deserves better.* - Toonces May 5, 2026, 18:52:30
- Not sure how much of a market there will be, but they should try to trade it. - OB25 May 5, 2026, 18:43:58
- Yep. Terrible* - UofIL6 May 5, 2026, 18:36:48
- At least I take solace in knowing some kid gets screwed up by Toronto* - timmer May 5, 2026, 18:29:38
- What an incredibly annoying outcome. Damn* - OB25 May 5, 2026, 18:27:01
- Fvck. The Sharks get #2* - timmer May 5, 2026, 18:26:48
- Dammit.* - OB25 May 5, 2026, 18:18:40
- ok this is good tv* - assassin May 5, 2026, 18:17:49
- Draft lottery tonight. Blackhawks 2nd best odds but really just need to get #1 or #2 - OB25 May 5, 2026, 10:17:20
- This game is nuts* - BradUnderwoodforprez May 3, 2026, 22:43:14
- The home crowd scenes for Buffalo/Montreal will be the best part of the whole plsyoffs* - OB25 May 3, 2026, 19:54:38
- Every-time a Canadian hockey team beats a Florida team in the playoffs... - KingTalkyTiki May 3, 2026, 19:52:05
- Every stadium will have these next season. - OB25 May 2, 2026, 21:55:10
- Interesting stat ABC just provided in the Canes / Flyers - timmer May 2, 2026, 19:30:38
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on May 5, 2026, 11:01:48, in reply to "So what's up with the Blackhawks? Making any progress in the rebuild?"
- IlliniSax05 May 6, 2026, 10:53:49