As more and more prospects have arrived at the NHL level over the last few seasons while more and more losses have piled up alongside them, there’s been a thought lurking in the back of my mind that was summarized fairly well in this comment from SCH user Spknight appreciation association in the recap from last Thursday’s loss to the Oilers:
You have to wonder a bit what all this losing is doing to the young core’s culture. All the old leadership that left had at least some idea of what it was like to be on a winning team, but do these guys? What happens if the young guys that are supposed to invigorate the franchise just get used to losing?
Perhaps this is too much of a Debbie downer of a take, but it’s been on my mind lately. I’m sure once they actually have a win on the board I’ll brighten back up again
Now, much of what is discussed at this site is often based on specific data because those figures can provide more objective analysis than our own eyes and minds will because of our decidedly subjective feelings towards this team. But this is where I find it worthwhile to stray away from numbers and explore matters more abstract because it is another significant piece of this puzzle even if it’s hard to define or calculate.
When it comes to sports, though, I’ve developed the following general philosophy: losing only begets more losing. I don’t believe teams can lose their way into long-term success. Even if there’s a season-long tank to land a specific player atop the following year’s draft, most sports but especially this one require so many more pieces than just one standout to assemble a championship-worthy team — just ask Connor McDavid! This isn’t to suggest that the Hawks shouldn’t have embarked on this path altogether, but the frustrations here stem from this team’s continued spot at or near the bottom of the league standings without any apparent urgency to move away from that dungeon. The Hawks weren’t only the team that tanked in an attempt to get Bedard in the 2022-23 season, yet the Hawks are the only team of the bottom seven that isn’t in playoff conention this season. In 2023-24, the Hawks were 31st in the league with the four teams above them being, in order: Utah, Montreal, Columbus and Anaheim. Guess what the Hawks don’t have in common with them right now?
The organization will say that’s the price to pay in the present for a long-term path toward sustained success in the years ahead, but it’s so hard to envision that coming to fruition when precious little is happening in the present. We can point to some individual success stories right now, of course: Connor Bedard took a massive step forward this season, as did Spencer Knight in net. We could even throw prgoress for Frank Nazar and Wyatt Kaiser in there as well. And where did that get the Hawks? The same place in the standings. Next season could see further development from that quartet and perhaps more from guys like Antwaan Frondell El (iykyk) and Kevin Korchinski and Sam Rinzel and Nick Lardis alongside newcomers like Roman Kantserov and whomever the Hawks draft this summer. But is that going to be enough to get things going forward finally? Are you sure?
This all just feels painfully stagnant, and no one within the organization seems all that bothered by it. Meanwhile, the only thing the kids on this team are learning to do is lose, and the overwhelming majority of the veterans who were supposed to instill that mythological winning culture in the locker room are now gone. We’ve seen individual progress, yet that hasn’t led to collective success. How many more steps forward can these kids take before we start seeing a team that isn’t at or near the bottom in both the league standings and all of the underlying numbers associated with quality play?
I realize that this is a slightly different angle on what’s largely the same take that opened this space last week. But it’s hard to find much of anything else to say about this team when we’ve reached yet another April with playoff pictures starting to take shape and the Blackhawks miles away from that frame.
The Week That Was
Thursday, April 2: Oilers 3, Blackhawks 1
Watched Edmonton on Tuesday night against Utah and don’t see how its goaltending is going to hold up once the postseason begins while the McDavid clock seems to keep moving closer to midnight.
Saturday, April 4: Blackhawks 4, Kraken 2
Anyone who can prove they watched this game should be awarded with a free ticket to a Hawks home game next season.
Monday, April 6: Sharks 3, Blackhawks 2
I understand the connection people are making, but it seems like there’s been a rush to anoint this as a future rivalry without anything that’s actually happened on the ice to suggest as much.
The Abolition of Man
Let’s get to something positive. If it hasn’t been mentioned here already, my favorite hockey archetype is the offensively gifted defenseman, because I find it especially satisfying when an attack originates from the blue line with all of the speed and skill as the players who are supposed to be the primary offensive contributors. That’s why I was a huge fan of Bryan Berard — shut up — as a kid, of Bryan Campbell during his stint here and of Kevin Korchinski now. The latter has had his struggles since joining the Hawks organization which are well-document but we’ve seen some signs over the last few weeks that things might be turning around for the 2022 No. 7 overall pick.
LBR will probably swing by the comments to yell at me for using small sample sizes in this discussion but let’s go with it anyway! In the Hawks’ last five games, here’s where Korchinski ranks in some key categories among the six Hawks blue-liners in 66:30 of 5-on-5 ice time:
Team-high shot attempt share of 49.53 percent
Team-high expected goal share of 57.84 percent
Team-high high-danger chance share of 56.25 percent
Team-high scoring chance share of 48.98 percent
He’s done all that while starting in the offensive zone just 43.90 percent of the time, which is only the third highest rate on the team (Rinzel at 52.73 and Kaiser at 53.13 are above him).
There are plenty of clips detailing Korchinski making smart, sound plays in all portions of the ice:
Kevin Korchinski using his speed to make a good defensive play, then settling things down with a clean pass: pic.twitter.com/OZPksnnjEH
— Ben Pope’s Video Clips (@BenPopeCSTclips) April 7, 2026
Another strong game for Kevin Korchinski tonight. He logged a season-high 15:38: pic.twitter.com/GzxL6A5K8J
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 7, 2026
And he also flashed that offensive talent when he took this pass into his skates and turned it into a primary assist on Sacha Boisvert’s first career NHL goal:
BOISVERT FIRST NHL GOAL
BOISVERT FIRST NHL GOAL
BOISVERT FIRST NHL GOOOOOOOOOOOAL pic.twitter.com/UPHSwz3JUi
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 5, 2026
There will be plenty of discussion about whether or not Korchinski has turned a corner in his development, and they’re all wildly premature, because we’ll need to see him do this again at the start of next season to have more confidence that it’s going to be something sustainable.
But there are undeniably positive signs emerging from the last handful of games, with time left to add some more before this season concludes — and that’s more than we had with Korchinski at this time last year.
The Week That Will Be
Thursday, April 9: Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes
The last game between these two teams was pretty ornery, so we’ll see if those feelings linger a few months later.
Saturday, April 11: Blackhawks vs. Blues
Might as well beat these guys again before the season ends.
Monday, April 13: Blackhawks vs. Sabres
Extremely excited to see — and hear — what the atmosphere will be like in Buffalo for that first home playoff game in 15 years coming later this month.