Blackhawks power rankings: Benchings, Bertuzzi's offense, Jeremy Roenick's irrelevance

When we last checked in on the Chicago Blackhawks , they were in the midst of their first three-game win streak in nearly two years.

The new-coach bump was real, and the Anders Sorensen vibe was No.

1 on our inaugural Blackhawks power rankings .

A lot can change in 19 days.

The vibe these days is as bad as its been all season, as the Blackhawks have lost six of their last seven games.

And their last four losses have all been blowouts, a relatively new phenomenon this season.

Say what you will about Luke Richardsons more conservative system, but the Blackhawks were in all but one game this season before the coaching change .

That hasnt been the case at all lately.

Heck, they made the New York Rangers look downright functional on Sunday afternoon at the United Center.

No small feat.

The Blackhawks and their fans are frustrated, furious, and feeling futile as ever.

But it cant be all bad, right? Lets dive into the latest power rankings and find out.

1.

Tyler Bertuzzi s offensive surge Bertuzzis offensive game can run really hot or really cold.

The Blackhawks knew that when signing him to a four-year deal this offseason.

Their hope was hed start the season off hot and get him and the team on the right track.

That didnt happen.

He scored five goals in his first 27 games.

But since Dec.

9, Sorensens second game as coach, Bertuzzi has discovered that offensive groove again.

Advertisement He has scored nine goals in the last 13 games and seems to be developing a real rapport with Connor Bedard , who keeps setting him up in the goal mouth for backdoor tap-ins.

Now with 14 goals through 40 games this season, Bertuzzis production looks a lot like what the Blackhawks thought they were paying for.

2.

Draft hopes Nearly halfway through the season, its beginning to look like a two-team race between the Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks for the best odds at the top pick in the 2025 draft.

The Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators are still in the conversation, but each has a five-point advantage over the last-place Blackhawks right now.

As for the reward of drafting first in 2025, thats not as clear-cut as the last few years.

There isnt a definitive top player like Bedard or Macklin Celebrini .

It wouldnt help the Blackhawks a whole lot if they land the No.

1 pick and the consensus top player becomes defenseman Matthew Schaefer .

Forwards James Hagens, Porter Martone, Michael Misa and Anton Frondell are the likely targets for the Blackhawks.

3.

Louis Crevier The Blackhawks have an abundance of young defensemen they like for the future.

The 23-year-old Crevier doesnt usually get included with that group.

But as of late, Crevier has shown more and more signs he might just be a solid NHLer.

During his latest stretch of games, which have come mostly during a tough time for the team, hes been a bright spot.

In his last four games, hes had a 57.67 expected-goals percentage and the Blackhawks have been outscored just 3-2 with him on the ice in five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The coaches trust in him has also noticeably grown.

Hes played 19-plus minutes in his last two games.

4.

Roman Kantserov The KHLs two top young players this season have been Ivan Demidov and Kantserov.

In an alternate universe, theyd both be Blackhawks prospects .

The Artyom Levshunov-Demidov debate cant be fairly assessed for years, so theres no point in having it yet.

For now, the focus is on Blackhawks prospect Kantserov and his KHL rise.

Advertisement Over his last eight games, the 20-year-old Kantserov has nine goals and two assists.

His season average of 0.90 points per game is tied for the league lead among under-24 players.

His KHL contract expires after the 2025-26 season.

5.

Colton Dach Dach had a dynamite debut against his brother, Kirby, and the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.

Dach had five shots on goal, five hits and drew a penalty, showing the kind of confidence and aggression that the Blackhawks havent always gotten from their young players, who too often hesitate or defer to their more experienced teammates.

Dach had a much rougher go of it against the Rangers (as nearly every Blackhawks player did), drowning in possession and getting caught on the ice for two goals against.

But the 22-year-old Dach has an opportunity here to carve out a role for himself as a power forward and energy guy before the next wave of prospects comes later this season.

6.

The great outdoors The scene at Wrigley Field was spectacular on New Years Eve.

The game wasnt.

The Blackhawks put forth one of their worst efforts of the season in front of their biggest crowd in a 6-2 loss to the St.

Louis Blues .

The Blackhawks, who have appeared in more outdoor games than any other NHL team, are now 0-5 in Winter Classics and 1-6 in outdoor games overall.

Perhaps drawing the worst television ratings in Winter Classic history (the game being on TNT rather than a network played a role in that, obviously) and laying an egg, to use Bedards words, will spare them from any more for a while.

7.

Taylor Hall s trade value Hall is probably the Blackhawks biggest trade bait at the deadline.

Someone will undoubtedly want him.

He can still play.

But that value has likely declined over the last few months.

He isnt fetching a first-round pick and it might be a stretch for a second-rouder.

Advertisement Hall has looked like his old self at times this season, but he just hasnt been consistent enough.

He has eight goals in 39 games, and three of those goals came in one game.

Since his hat trick on Nov.

27, he has scored just two goals.

8.

Petr Mrazek Acquired from Toronto as a bad contract to move up in the 2022 draft, Mrazek emerged as one of the Blackhawks most reliable and valuable players since the start of last season.

But his performance has dropped off dramatically, particularly since the groin injury that cost him a couple of weeks in December.

In his last five full starts (not counting the one in which he was injured), Mrazek has given up five, four, five, four and six goals.

That could open the door for Arvid Soderblom to be the new No.

1, but his brilliant 38-save effort against Montreal came sandwiched between two poor starts against Dallas (five goals) and New York (six).

9.

Blue line blundering Its not completely fair to align the Blackhawks recent decline with just Seth Jones return, as some fans have.

There are a few different reasons why the Blackhawks have had less success under Sorensen in recent weeks.

That said, Jones hasnt helped matters, and the Blackhawks continually giving Jones major minutes isnt making that better, either.

Since returning, Jones has played the most ice time among Blackhawks in all situations and second-most five-on-five ice time.

At five-on-five, Jones has a team-worst 35.0 expected goals percentage in the last seven games.

Jones isnt the only defenseman struggling as of late.

TJ Brodie has had a slightly better stretch, but hes still been on for a lot of goals.

For the season, the Blackhawks have been outscored 31-12 with him on the ice in five-on-five.

Nolan Allan s play hasnt been as consistent in recent weeks.

Alex Vlasic has even had a few rough games.

Advertisement 10.

Centers of attention The Blackhawks believe Bedard and Frank Nazar can be their two top-six centers of the future.

They love almost everything about their games.

Their one concern, though, is both players ability on faceoffs.

You can expect some faceoff struggles from young players, but Bedard and Nazars woes have been beyond the expected.

Bedards 31.3 faceoff percentage is the worst in the NHL among the 120 players with at least 250 attempts.

Nazar has a smaller sample size with just 62 faceoffs in 11 games, but his 33.9 percentage is still worrisome.

In Sundays game, the two players combined to go 3-for-11 at the dot.

There is no simple fix.

The Blackhawks have to hope that, in time, both improve.

11.

Lukas Reichel and Philipp Kurashev When Kaapo Kakko was made a healthy scratch by the Rangers in mid-December, a move that presaged his trade to Seattle, the 23-year-old 2019 No.

2 pick was baffled and angry, saying, I have not been the worst guy.

Lukas Reichel can probably relate.

Reichel hardly has been dominant and has never managed to find the scoring touch he had in the spring of 2023.

But relegated to a fourth-line role, hes fared relatively well.

He has the fifth-best expected-goals share (47.3 percent) among Blackhawks forwards, has a respectable minus-2 goal differential at five-on-five and has 11 points in 34 games.

No player on the roster other than Bedard can match Reichels ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone with speed.

Granted, once he gets in the zone, Reichel is often like a point guard who has jumped in the air before deciding where hes going to pass the ball.

But at least hes generating something .

Still, he hasnt scored a goal since Dec.

2, and Sorensen has made him a healthy scratch for the last two games.

No, he has not been the worst guy.

But hes clearly fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and management.

And because Reichel is a Stan Bowman draft pick, Kyle Davidson might be willing to move on from him at some point, as the Rangers did with Kakko.

Advertisement As for Kurashev? Believe it or not, hes still on the roster.

Hes been scratched the last three games and has one assist since Nov.

10.

Its fair to wonder if the Blackhawks are ready to move on from him, too.

12.

Jeremy Roenicks credibility and relevance In what can only be seen as a desperate plea for attention for his podcast co-hosted by disgraced referee Tim Peel (the 73rd-most popular hockey podcast in America, per the latest Apple charts), Roenick lamented that Bedard didnt say hi or shake his hand or genuflect before him at the Winter Classic.

Roenick went on to say the supposed lack of respect didnt reflect well on the 19-year-olds potential as a team leader and future captain, a truly absurd leap.

Roenick was a great player and a fan-favorite in Chicago during his stint with the Blackhawks.

Hes not doing himself or his reputation any favors with nonsense like this.

But hey, get those clicks, man.

13.

CHSN Speculation among Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) staffers that a deal with Comcast was close over the holidays hasnt come to fruition, and countless Blackhawks fans are still left without access to their favorite team, which airs most of its games on the network thats a joint venture between the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox.

The good news is the Blackhawks are in a stretch of nationally televised games.

The bad news is they havent exactly been putting on a show.

(Top photo of Philipp Kurashev, Lukas Reichel: David Banks / USA Today).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.