It’s been a trying handful of years for Blackhawks fans, with losses on the ice and in the locker room piling up year after year. But the arrival of Connor Bedard last summer dramatically changed the vibe of both the roster and the fan base, even as the team endured a franchise-record 53 losses (59 if you count overtime losses). This year’s fan survey was designed to see if the good feelings are carrying over to Bedard’s second season.
The results are in, and with the worst of the rebuild (hopefully) in the past, optimism still reigns among Blackhawks fans — to an extent, and with some caveats. Let’s dive right in, with our quick thoughts in italics and your comments immediately following.
Fans’ confidence in Danny Wirtz leading the Blackhawks has been average to above average for the last few years. It’ll likely take winning again to elevate him further, but fans are favorable of the direction the franchise is headed on and off the ice.
• “I love to see him reinvesting in the area around the United Center instead of taking the ‘stadiums need replacing every 30 years’ mentality.”
• “I’ve overall liked what I’ve seen from him, but he can’t get a 5 after selling ad space on the jersey. I know, I know, every team is going to do it eventually, it’s free money for ownership and thus the players so the CBA will never disallow it, but I still hate it with a burning passion.”
• “Prior to this season, I had faith that Danny would be different from his dad and his grandfather before him. But during his tenure, the Hawks have had at least two more lawsuits come up against them (one related to 2010, and one from a former contractor), they’ve botched hires (see promoting Bowman and allowing him to continue as GM during the investigation), and they’ve isolated members of the LGBTQ+ community by making Pride jerseys optional. I still have some hope for Danny, but patience is running thin.”
For the second straight year, Davidson has the strong support of just shy of 80 percent of fans, which is no small feat given the Blackhawks are coming off two of the worst seasons in franchise history. All part of the plan, of course. The fans’ patience will run out eventually, but so far, Davidson is drawing rave reviews. Well, mostly.
• “When the Blackhawks rebuild is compared with other recent rebuilds (Ottawa, Detroit, etc.) it’s hard not to feel like Davidson is slightly ahead of the curve at this point. Whether that’s true or not, I guess we’ll find out in the next three or so years, as the plethora of coveted picks not named Connor Bedard make their way into the league (or not). I like that Davidson places such importance on the core of this team coming up as a group, but I do wonder whether it might have benefitted Bedard, Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski more if he’d splurged in dollars and term on one or two premier talents rather than a handful of good but far from great ones.”
• “I am most impressed with Chicago’s sound direction and plan. Kyle understands that nothing worthwhile happens overnight and has been transparent with the fans in his messaging. He does a great job of setting expectations.”
• “Jury still out on Davidson. Shown himself capable in tear-down and drafting, but his youth shows in allowing the culture of the Blackhawks to slip too much. I’m with Michael Jordan’s view that you can never let losing be acceptable culture — even briefly. I think Davidson overrated the detrimental nature Patrick Kane’s presence could have on the team.”
• “In terms of Davidson and confidence in him as a GM, you love to see him stick to a plan, unlike his predecessor, while being aggressive enough to nearly pull off a trade for No. 4 in the draft and Ivan Demidov. In his offseason signings he brought in good talent, but without sacrificing his cap flexibility. He is shaping up to be a good general manager in the league.”
• “Always tough to grade a GM before first-round picks have gotten their go, but I still disagree with him ditching PK88. Everything he was looking to get out of a veteran is brought to the locker room by Kane, and that interview where he said he was expecting a call to re-sign and didn’t get one hurt.
Richardson hasn’t lost the fans’ support from a season ago, but it has slipped some. Thirty-nine percent of voters gave him a five last season. This could be an important season for Richardson to secure management and the fans’ trust.
• “Last year we heard every two weeks that effort was an issue with this team. I know they’re young, but what’s Richardson being paid to do? Maybe he’s a great tactical guy once he gets better players, but I can’t remember a likeable team like this with more public effort issues.”
• “This is a make-or-break year for Richardson. I think he now has enough adults in the room to see if his style of coaching can work. I believe there is a wide range of outcomes possible for this year’s team. The closer we are to a top 5 (or 3) pick, the less likely Richardson continues as the coach (assuming no major injuries).”
• “Please advise Luke Richardson he is doing a good job and to keep doing what he is doing it will pay off his system is working and as the young players mature in the system the Hawks will get progressively better.”
• “With a more competitive team, it will be time to watch Luke’s game strategy and line changes. Is he capable of outwitting and creating the matchups to get points in key games?”
Unsurprisingly, this question mirrored the results for Davidson, the steward of the rebuild. But as a lot of readers pointed out, the hardest part of the rebuild still remains.
• “Tearing down is the easy part. The Sabres, Red Wings, Coyotes, Senators, etc., all demonstrate the rebuilding phase is very difficult and rarely is progress linear. Drafting, trades, signing and luck (most important ingredient!) are needed to successfully rebuild. Hawks have still a ways to go.”
• “A proper scorched-Earth rebuild through drafting started on March 19, 2022.
1) I can’t rationally believe it’ll be successful in less than seven years.
2) I don’t like the shape of this new roster
3) I don’t buy the ‘take the next step now’ so-called improvised part of the plan. It feels like rushed at this point and, if I’m right, it’ll mean all the patience invested so far will be lost for nothing.”
• “Kyle Davidson and Co. have done a great job sticking to their plan and executing it. The only thing that worries me is the lack of another true top-tier forward to play with Bedard. If you look at past winners, they all had a three-headed monster consisting of two elite forwards and a No. 1 D-man. I worry the Hawks have great D-man prospects but not at forward.”
• “Looking forward to watching Rockford this year.”
The Blackhawks did a lot this offseason from free agency to the draft, but was it good work? Most fans thought so. A combined 88 percent of voters gave the offseason an A or B.
• “I gave the offseason grade a B. That is NOT saying that I did not love the moves. Also, it’s not saying that Davidson didn’t try for an A. If the draft-day trade with Columbus went through, it would have been an easy A.”
• “Between goaltending and defensive backend improvements, the Hawks have an opportunity to give up less goals, making a better path for offense to succeed with a smaller goal differential.”
• “The Hawks had a better offseason than any realistic fan could have hoped for. Hawks will be MUCH more fun to watch this season and we are on our way in the right direction on competitiveness.”
• “None of the additions over the summer are particularly impressive, especially Pat Maroon and TJ Brodie. But collectively I really like what Davidson did. The Hawks are now an actual NHL team that can be competitive each night.”
For so many fans, Teuvo Teräväinen was the one who got away. He’s no longer a wide-eyed youngster, but Blackhawks fans are thrilled to have the two-way standout back in Chicago for the next three seasons.
• “Super excited to have Turbo back.”
• “Just one old defenseman signed too many. I was pleased after the first day of free agency, but then surprised and unhappy the next morning when I learned of T.J. Brodie’s signing. Oh well, not my money. Happy to have the young D-men play as long as possible/reasonable in Rockford, but don’t want to see anyone blocked.”
• “Brossoit, because he is a massive upgrade over Arvid Söderblom. This signing will easily split the load for Petr Mrázek. But for the skater, I would answer Teuvo Teräväinen because he will bring solid two-way scoring touch the Hawks were lacking. I also feel Teuvo can be a solid mentor for a player like Lukas Reichel, both of whom were drafted around the same spot and struggled in the NHL to start their careers.”
The Blackhawks finished with 52 points last season. Most voters expect around a 20-point jump this season.
• “My view of success this year is if Bedard has more points than the team does in the standings. It’s really just about him again. It will get better soon, just not this year. Too many teams to leapfrog.”
Forty-seven players scored at least 30 goals in the NHL last season, and most Blackhawks fans expect Bedard to join them as a sophomore. If not for his broken jaw costing him 14 games, he had an outside chance of reaching that mark as an 18-year-old.
• “Excited to see how Bedard develops with actual NHL-caliber talent around him this year.”
• “I am excited to see Teuvo Teräväinen return, if he can be as effective as he was in Carolina with Sebastian Aho as his star linemate. His success this season should be measured by how much better he can allow Connor Bedard to be, even if Teuvo’s point total is less than elite.”
Nick Foligno was the expected answer here, but it’s notable how many fans want to wait to give Connor Bedard the C and how many still think the role should be vacant.
• “Nick Foligno is the captain in all but title. The Blackhawks should recognize that and show the young players that leadership and commitment is recognized. Bedard can wait, he’ll still be a young captain when he gets the C at age 21.”
• “No need to give Foligno the captaincy. Everyone knows he’s the alpha male. He would only have it for a very short time anyways.”
• “Just get it over with and take the ‘C’ from Connor and put it on the front of his jersey. There is absolutely no need to wait on this one. ‘The Franchise’ has arrived.”
No. 98 jerseys were everywhere at the United Center last season like Patrick Kane’s No. 88 and Jonathan Toews’ No. 19 were for so many years. But who’s the hipster pick? Who’s the Niklas Hjalmarsson of this group? Well, it looks like Hjalmarsson’s heir apparent, Alex Vlasic. It helps that he’s a local kid. It helps even more that he just signed a six-year extension.
• “I’m getting old. Foligno is one of the few players older than me and I’d feel a little less weird getting his jersey.”
• “For my next jersey, I went with (Levshunov), but only because I already have Vlasic. Nazar a close second! Although Fanatics and the new ad patch may have me shopping for some legacy sweaters instead.”
• “I’m not dropping jersey money until I’m confident someone I like is going to be around for a while.”
The Blackhawks have a lot of first-round picks in the pipeline. Outside of Bedad, Levshunov was probably the obvious answer with him the second-overall pick. Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore followed him.
• “I’m also a bit biased on Levshunov as I am an MSU alum and follow MSU hockey. He made some incredible plays last year and should be a fixture on the blue line for years to come.”
• “I have high hopes for Nazar. I am excited for him.”
The results were lopsided, but those who thought Ivan Demidov was the ideal long-term winger for Bedard were adamant and plentiful in the comments. Even the Blackhawks were somewhat torn on it, as Davidson tried to move up to No. 4 so he could take them both.
• “This year’s draft was disappointing. Passing on Demidov for a good but not great D and overdrafting the other first-round picks slows down the otherwise promising rebuild.”
• “I like the direction the Blackhawks are heading in. I really do. But I don’t think they have enough high-end forward prospects. When I look at our system, I see a lot of guys who look like they are middle-six players. The team needs someone who can play with Bedard. I would’ve rather seen them draft Demidov.”
• “Super excited for Levshunov and he was who I wanted going into the season, but I can’t help thinking we might regret passing on Demidov. I was caught up in the hype a bit. Fingers crossed that Arty hits his ceiling, and the top pairing is set for the next decade.”
• “I think he was the safer pick, but my heart wanted Demidov.”
• “If Demidov becomes a star, I’ll never get over it.”
• “I know it’s only his second year but we passed on a potential franchise-level winger in Demidov with a pick that we probably won’t get for the rest of the Bedard era.”
• “It seemed that every Hawks fan wanted Demidov, because who wouldn’t want a dynamic forward with silky mitts to play alongside Bedard? But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense that Levshunov was the pick.”
• “Preferred Demidov but would not call Levshunov an ‘incorrect’ pick.”
• “Passing on Demidov was a huge, huge buzzkill.”
• “The question about Arty at No. 2 was so difficult, I had to leave it blank. I think Demidov is going to be an absolute star.”
Expectations aren’t high for this upcoming season, but that begins to change over the next two seasons. Most voters were split between the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons being when the Blackhawks return to the playoffs.
• “I feel like this year is kind of a mirage part of the rebuild – they will be better, but they will be doing it with guys that aren’t part of the future aside from Bedard and a few others. I believe it will be a roller coaster to getting back to the playoffs – signs of improvement this year, a slight step back next year when they trade off assets on the two-year deals, back to where they are this year in three years with more young guys, and then year four compete for a playoff spot.”
• “As a Cowboys fan for too long, I have learned patience over the last 25+ years. The Blackhawks are way more entertaining to watch and I think they should make the playoffs as early as next year.”
• “This team is still very young despite all the veteran acquisitions this offseason. They should improve but playoffs is way too high of an expectation for this season.”
Settle in, folks, this is going to take a while. More than 65 percent of Blackhawks fans think the 2028 or 2029 playoffs is the next time their team will be true contenders. On the bright side, Bedard will only be 23 or 24 by then. And, hey, at least only 16 people were the ultimate pessimists.
• “The easy part — the tear-down — is over. The hard part — actually contending for a cup — seems daunting and many years away right now.”
• “After this year, the drafting is mostly done. Now the player-development stage and the integration onto the Hawks roster begins. There should be enough there, with maybe an additional exceptional forward, to become a Cup contender in the next five years.”
• “Like the direction so far. Lots of potentially good or great players in the system. Glad we’re rebuilding as we had no core to depend on. Time will tell, but I believe the right decisions have been made to make the Blackhawks Cup contenders within a few years.”
The Blackhawks shook up the TV booth last season by adding veteran Darren Pang. He received mostly high marks for his first season.
• “I was excited about the Pang hire but I’m not sure about him anymore. I don’t know if it was just bad chemistry with Chris Vosters or an awful on-ice product but I did not enjoy listening to Hawks games last year.”
• “Was going to give Pang an A but since he had to work with Vosters gave him a B. I know it was not his fault, but you could tell at times he was frustrated.”
As much turmoil as there’s been in the TV booth, the Blackhawks’ rock-solid radio pairing rolls on. Wiedeman’s crisp tape-to-tape mastery and Murray’s mix of veteran insight and goofy charm continues to play well with listeners.
• “The radio crew should be simulcast on TV.”
• “Troy Murray is fantastic!”
• “Wiedeman and Murray are true hockey listening excellence.”
The Blackhawks’ most unexpected move of the offseason may have been replacing Chris Vosters with Rick Ball. Vosters just never won over fans in his two years.
• “Two seasons was enough. He seemed like a nice guy who put in the effort who simply hasn’t been around hockey long enough in his life to capture the natural flow of play. Maybe he could develop those instincts, but it shouldn’t be in the NHL with an Original 6 team ushering in the NHL’s next superstar.”
• “I think he deserved more time since the point of hiring him was to let him grow into the role, but I also think the new team will be better and am looking forward to having a more experienced hockey voice in the chair.”
The Blackhawks will have a new television home this season, and considering how little we truly know about it, fans are understandably concerned. Only 1.1 percent have full confidence in the new CHSN, with nearly 44 percent answering with a 1 or a 2.
• “My biggest concern entering the season is actually the TV network. I’m worried I’m going to have fork over more money to watch games, or I won’t be able to get the games with my current provider. I have a partial season-ticket plan, and the money I’m spending to enjoy hockey is starting to add up.”
• “CHSN will have to do a lot of work to come across as a quality product, and the overall lack of information at this point is concerning.”
• “I’ve been a Hawks fan since the late 1950s. Now retired in Florida, I am wondering if I will be able to follow the team on television.”
• “As a YouTubeTV subscriber, I’m a bit worried about the rollout of the new TV station.”
• “I’m most nervous about the availability of the games on TV. I don’t want a situation like Marquee where we have to pay more than we currently do to get the same offering we’ve had.”
Steve Larmer has been the consistent answer among fans for a few years now. He was followed by Brent Seabrook and Jeremy Roenick. Not much more for Patrick Sharp this time around.
• “Steve Larmer’s number should have been retired more than 20 years ago.”
• “I do not think any of those players should be retired. Seabrook at best.”
• “I could see all but Sharp having their numbers retired this season.”
This is a thought exercise that Lazerus has been obsessed with for years, but to the one commenter who told him to stop trying to make “fetch happen,” this was actually Powers’ question!
• “I’d rather one Cup because I could live off rewatching the coverage of that cup run for a while. Even now I am always happy to relive 2010, 2013, and 2015 playoff games, but I refuse to rewatch stuff from 2014 because of how the playoffs ended.”
• “This question was tough, as an OLD-time fan I’ve been through both scenarios and, in the big picture, neither is great. Winning a Cup “only” once can be as frustrating as getting in and never winning. For the record, I voted one Cup/no playoffs.”
• “Really tough call. However, in a longer-term view, having a Cup is always better. Do you want to be the Leafs? And the answer is always a no there.”
• “One Cup over what could be 10 first-round exits: Who essentially wants to be the Minnesota Wild!?!?”
Fans were somewhat divided on this question — and there were plenty of options we know we excluded — but ultimately what the four defensemen did during the Western Conference Final won out.
• “Favorite memory from the 2014-2015 Cup run is a close toss-up of ‘no human can withstand that many hits’ and the top 4 doing just that in the series and Toews absolutely breaking Freddie Anderson in Game 5 for the rest of the series.”
• “I wish Keith’s entire playoff performance was an option in the last question. I’m sure I’m biased, but in my opinion, no one has come close to that level of a performance in the playoffs since, even McDavid’s run this past season. Points aren’t everything. Keith was simply transcendent. It took so much out of him that he was never the same.”
• “All of it. That Era was a Dream.”
(Photo of Connor Bedard and Seth Jones: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
