What I'm interested in learning throughout the rest of the Blackhawks season

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back at it on Tuesday.

The 4 Nations Face-Off continues this week, but the Blackhawks, excluding Finlands Teuvo Teravainen, will return to practice Tuesday afternoon following a week off.

They have 27 games remaining.

While they dont have a shot at the playoffs, and the rest of their games may not be must-watch TV, even if you can watch them, there are some things I am interested in learning over the next few months.

Further assessing Sorensen as head coach The Blackhawks have been better under Anders Sorensen than Luke Richardson in terms of points percentage this season.

Under Richardson, they were on a 56-point pace over their first 26 games.

Under Sorensen in the last 29 games, theyve been on a 65-point pace.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson might have been content, or at least close to it, with a 65-point team this season.

That would be a 13-point increase from last season.

It probably doesnt move them up the standings, which well get to shortly.

The bottom of the league isnt as bad as last season.

But it would have been improvement.

Advertisement Still, Sorensen probably has to pull even more out of this group if hes going to be considered for the full-time position.

There have been stretches when the Blackhawks looked like more of a connected offensive team than they did under Richardson.

The Blackhawks scored at least three goals just nine times in 26 games under Richardson.

Theyve done it 17 times in 29 games under Sorensen.

The flip side of that is the Blackhawks have been allowing more goals.

The Blackhawks were allowing 2.45 goals against per 60 minutes in five-on-five play under Richardson this season.

Theyre now allowing 3.36 goals against under Sorensen.

One encouraging sign for Sorensen is the last 12 games before they headed into this break.

They had a .458 points percentage during that stretch.

They were much better defensively, too, and were only outscored 29-28 in five-on-five play.

Their expected goals percentage was still around 40 percent, so it wasnt always pretty.

Itll be interesting to see what changes Sorensen makes coming out of this break.

The Blackhawks are expected to have three or four practices before their next game.

Its a practice stretch coaches dont normally have the luxury of during a season.

Sorensen might not be able to overhaul everything, but he can probably implement a few tweaks and even think further outside the box.

This is his shot at being an NHL coach.

Sorensens main objective has to be finding more offensive zone time.

They were headed in that direction early on and were keeping the puck in the zone, but then it fell off.

Davidsons coaching decision You would think Davidson will announce at the end of the season whether hes going to promote Sorensen to permanent coach or begin a wider coaching search.

Davidson should have enough information at that point to decide whether Sorensen is the person for the job going forward.

Davidson also likely has an idea of who could be available in the coaching market.

Advertisement Its possible Davidson will promote Sorensen.

The Blackhawks like how Sorensen thinks the game, communicates his thoughts and develops players.

The decision to let Richardson go was about the Blackhawks direction, but it was also about seeing what Sorensen could do in the NHL.

There was always likely to be a learning curve to coaching in the NHL.

But now that he has 29 games under his belt and this break to reset, these last 27 games could decide Sorensens fate.

If its not Sorensen, Davidson would likely start another wide search, just as he did with Richardson.

University of Denver coach David Carle is the hot candidate, but that could come down to whether Davidson would hire another coach without NHL experience or whether Carle wants to stay at Denver or has other NHL opportunities.

Aside from Todd McLellan, this list of possible candidates still stands.

Bedards finish Connor Bedards improved play since Sorensen took over has to reflect well on Sorensen.

His offense and confidence were depleted under Richardson.

Since Sorensen came in, Bedard has produced 30 points in 29 games.

Thats good for 24th in the league during that span.

He has 11 goals and 19 assists, including 12 primary assists.

Bedards confidence is back and hes playing arguably the best hockey of his young career.

If Bedard had done this early on, Canada probably wouldve taken him for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

But it probably benefits Bedard and the Blackhawks for the rest of the season that he wasnt chosen.

He should be fresh for the final stretch.

Bedard has found some recent chemistry with Ryan Donato and Landon Slaggert on his line.

The Blackhawks have outscored teams 3-1 and have a 57.85 expected goals percentage with the line on the ice in five-on-five play.

Donato and Bedard have especially been clicking.

Theyve been playing more give-and-go hockey and creating scoring chances off the pass.

Donato has been one of Bedards best linemates over the last two seasons.

Advertisement Bedard will need a strong finish, but he could finish the season at a point-a-game pace.

He currently has 49 points in 55 games.

It could be another section, but how the rest of the Blackhakws young players finish is important, too.

Slaggert, Frank Nazar and Lukas Reichel are likely among the forwards in the NHL next season.

Alex Vlasic will want to get back to being more consistent over this last stretch.

Nolan Allan, Louis Creiver, Ethan Del Mastro and Wyatt Kaiser have to be hopeful for more NHL minutes late in the season.

Maybe Kevin Korchinski gets another look this season, too.

The trade deadline We should probably just call this the Donato deadline.

With the Blackhawks moving Taylor Hall early, Donato is likely the only other player to draw serious interest.

The Athletic s Chris Johnstons latest trade board includes Seth Jones and Connor Murphy, but theyre still long shots with term left on their deals after this season.

Jones has a no-movement clause, and the Blackhawks dont want to eat too much of his salary for too long.

With Murphy, there has to be worries about his injury issues the past few seasons.

Donatos situation could play out in a variety of ways .

Theres no guarantee the Blackhawks trade Donato, even if they do get offers.

His benefit with the team this season may outweigh another draft pick.

The fact he is playing well with Bedard has to be part of that internal debate.

As for the other players on expiring deals, the Blackhawks arent expected to trade Alec Martinez or Pat Maroon.

It sounds like both players would like to stay through the end of the season and the Blackhawks are willing to oblige.

Maybe someone such as Craig Smith could draw some interest.

Hes been on playoff teams and has played well at points this season.

Thats probably it, though.

Incoming college prospects The Blackhawks could have a number of college prospects turn pro and make their NHL debuts this season, most likely Boston University junior forward Ryan Greene, Minnesota sophomore Oliver Moore and Minnesota sophomore defenseman Sam Rinzel.

The Blackhawks wanted to sign Greene after last season but he opted to return to school to be the team captain.

BU recently won the Beanpot.

Greene has 12 goals and 15 assists in 29 games.

Hes projected as a middle-six center with some offense and defense to his game.

Of the three prospects mentioned, hes probably the most likely to come out.

Advertisement The Blackhawks would like Moore and Rinzel to turn pro, too, and at least get them going on a pro schedule in Rockford next season.

The Blackhawks will point to someone such as Frank Nazar as a positive example of a player who left after his sophomore season.

Minnesotas coaches will likely try to persuade both players that they should return for a season and can further develop in college.

There are other Blackhawks college prospects who will likely turn pro after this season but probably wont burn the contract season by joining the NHL roster.

Denver forward Aidan Thompson, Duluth forward Dominic James and Providence defenseman Taige Harding could sign with the Blackhawks.

The standings The lottery balls will ultimately determine where the Blackhawks draft, but where they finish in the standings will play a role in that, too.

The Blackhawks arent looking to tank as they did the past few years, so the emphasis isnt on losing as many games as possible down the stretch.

That said, there is still probably a benefit in the big picture for them to draft higher.

When games start back up, the Blackhawks will stand in 31st place with a .373 points percentage.

Theyve created some separation from the last-place San Jose Sharks, who have a .325 points percentage.

Ahead of the Blackhawks are the Nashville Predators (.417), Buffalo Sabres (.454) and Seattle Kraken (.456).

The Blackhawks could potentially pass the Predators.

The Sabres and Kraken would take more of a surge by the Blackhawks down the stretch.

Theyd need to make up eight to 10 points on those teams.

The most likely scenario is the Blackhawks finishing 30th or 31st.

That would give them at worst another top-five pick.

If youre looking for draft prospect info, Scott Wheeler recently dropped his latest rankings .

My educated guess is the Blackhawks would most likely look at Michael Misa, Porter Martone or Caleb Desnoyers, all forwards, if they make their pick.

CHSHs future Could the Blackhawks go a full season without carriage on Comcast? Time is running out.

CHSN continues to hold out hope for a carriage agreement with Comcast.

The recent agreement between Altitude Sports and Comcast may be a legitimate reason for hope, too.

Altitude Sports, which televises the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, recently reached an agreement after not being on Comcast for six years.

The network was placed on Comcasts More Sports and Entertainment tier and costs $15.95 per month.

Advertisement Whether its this season or the next, its hard to imagine the Blackhawks being OK with limiting its audience much longer.

Even if carriage on Comcast isnt the answer, the Blackhawks need to find another solution.

Decreased viewership impacts the present bottom line, but it could have a larger impact on the future.

(Top photo of Anders Sorensen behind the Blackhawks bench: Matt Marton / Imagn Images).

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