With Wednesday night\u2019s win over the Sharks, the 2025-26 Chicago Blackhawks season is finally in the books. The Blackhawks finished with a 29-39-14 record, an 11-point improvement over last season and 20 points better than two years ago. That means there\u2019s still a long ways to go\u2014they missed the playoffs by 18 points and will be picking inside the top four at this summer\u2019s NHL Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But before we get all excited about Chicago\u2019s next young star and the team potentially making a splash on the trade market, it wasn\u2019t all bad things this year. The numbers don\u2019t always show it, but the Blackhawks had a handful of things go right, setting up building blocks for years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jeff Blashill is\u2026 an improvement<\/p>\n
Was head coach Jeff Blashill perfect this season? No. He made his fair share of questionable decisions, chief among them leaving Andre Burakovsky on Connor Bedard\u2019s top line almost all season. But, to give him credit, he\u2019s certainly off to a better start than Anders Sorensen or Luke Richardson. He did a great job of skating his young players in roles where they were set up for success and blended the lineup at the right moments, providing a bit more consistency than Chicago has had in the past. His focus is on the long-term outlook of the Blackhawks, and it looks like he\u2019s the right man for the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Connor Bedard keeps getting better<\/p>\n
Bedard wasn\u2019t close to leading the NHL in points or anything, but his game keeps trending in the right direction. He survived the lean years without any decent help, and he\u2019s finally about to get it. His 75 points in 69 games this year are nothing to sneeze at, and his plus-minus keeps improving (-18 this year after -36 and -44 marks in his first two seasons). He\u2019s developing into a leader on the ice and figures to be named the team\u2019s captain after signing a big extension this summer. Bedard has become an even better playmaker, and it\u2019ll be exciting to see what he can do with a big-name winger or two on his line.\u00a0<\/p>\n