It’s early November and the Chicago Blackhawks are in a familiar spot. Second-to-last in the NHL, with a league-worst minus-37 goal differential and barreling through another season that feels destined to be lost.
The pain of a rebuild is usually a small price to pay for three Stanley Cups from Chicago’s previous core, but this one has been particularly agonizing. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs six years in a row and appear headed for a seventh. There also doesn’t seem to be many positive signs to build on going forward. Sure, Connor Bedard looks every bit of a superstar in the making, though there aren’t many running mates who are going to help the Blackhawks captain imminently.
Rebuilds take time, but it’s important that an organization is moving in the right direction and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not sure anyone can say that about Chicago right now.
Blackhawks rebuild has hit a wall
This is Bedard’s fourth season and the team has never finished any higher than 31st since he joined the NHL. Where are the Blackhawks right now in the standings? You guessed it, 31st. Bedard needs more help.
Theoretically, that help should be coming, considering all the high draft picks Chicago has had in recent years. The Blackhawks picked in the first round 11 times between 2022-2025, which included a first overall (Bedard), second overall (Artyom Levshunov), third overall (Anton Frondell) and seventh overall (Kevin Korchinski). Frondell, Levshunov and others still have a ton of potential and patience is needed, but there is far less confidence in many of the other first-rounders the Blackhawks bet on.
Korchinski went in the 2022 draft and still hasn’t been able to secure a regular place in the lineup. Marek Vanacker and Sacha Boisvert, a couple of first-rounders from 2024, had combined for 0 points and a minus-10 rating in 11 games with Rockford of the AHL, before both finally found the scoresheet Saturday. All this is to say that there’s still time for all these young players to develop, but one would think the Blackhawks should be in a much better place considering they drafted a franchise talent in Bedard and had a boatload of other high-end picks.
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Overreaction? – No
Any successful rebuild can’t be solely based on draft picks. You need to make a savvy trade or two, sign quality free agents and manage your cap space properly as well. Chicago has also made some questionable moves in these areas.
The Blackhawks gave TJ Brodie a two-year deal worth $3.75 million per season after he struggled to get in the lineup at the end of his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brodie lasted all of 54 games in Chicago, finishing as a minus-18 before being bought out. Even Patrick Kane’s homecoming this summer raised eyebrows. Kane is on the books this year and next at $8 million, a hefty sum for a soon-to-be 38-year-old who is a minus-15. That cap space probably would’ve been better spent on a younger, more impactful player, or saved to remain more flexible heading into the season to pursue someone via trade.
Speaking of trades, the Blackhawks made a fairly regrettable one a couple of years ago involving Seth Jones. Like many other Hawks, Jones was struggling in Chicago and was shipped out for goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round pick. The move proved hasty, as Jones looks completely rejuvenated in Florida and was a critical piece of the Panthers' second Cup victory. He’s on pace for a career year offensively now, too.
The return for Jones wasn’t horrible, but the logic of the move wasn’t sound. Trading a top pairing blue-liner that can log huge minutes for a goalie doesn’t make sense. It’s much easier to find capable goaltending through other channels, but it’s nearly impossible to get a high-end defenceman. Let’s also not forget that Chicago retained money on Jones in the trade, so now he and Brodie are still costing the Blackhawks almost $3 million this season on the cap. Jones alone is still on the books for three more years after this one at $2.5 million per season.
The Blackhawks are an Original Six franchise with an elite player at the top of their lineup, so they should be a destination on the rise that players around the league are clamouring to go to. Instead, Chicago feels trapped in a perpetual rebuild with no end in sight.
Jets' incredible comeback may have saved Scott Arniel’s job
Boy did the Winnipeg Jets need that one. After nine losses in a row and down 4-0 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, Winnipeg appeared destined for a 10th straight defeat. Miraculously, though, the Jets rallied with four goals in a little over two minutes before stunning the Canadiens in overtime.
It felt like a critical win for the Jets, as no one would’ve been surprised if there were some major changes coming had Winnipeg not made that improbable comeback. Head coach Scott Arniel is certainly on the hot seat considering the Jets missed the playoffs a year ago and Winnipeg’s poor start this season, so that victory may have saved his job.
Overreaction? – No
It really does feel like Arniel got a reprieve due to Winnipeg’s late heroics this week, even if it is only temporary. Had the Jets lost 4-0 after dropping a 7-0 contest last Sunday versus Carolina, it would have been hard for Arniel to come back from. That said, I don’t think Arniel is completely off the hook. This is an important year for Winnipeg and at least optically, it’s critical for the team to remain competitive after trading Connor Hellebuyck. The concern for the Jets would be making sure others on the roster don’t follow the same path as Hellebuyck and another dismal season wouldn’t help on that front. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are Winnipeg’s most important pieces, but Josh Morrissey and Dylan Samberg are extension-eligible next summer. Convincing them to re-sign will be much easier if they have a solid season. If it looks like Arniel can’t deliver it, it wouldn’t shock me if a change behind the bench eventually happens.
Flames have a shot at the playoffs
This season for the Calgary Flames was supposed to be about the early stages of a rebuild and saying goodbye to the Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary is giving younger players a long look and then the Flames will hopefully also add another top-five talent to the group next summer at the draft. That still may ultimately be in the cards, but right now the Flames are playing some good hockey and have remained in the playoff picture. A run of points in seven of their past 10 games, combined with a mediocre bottom half of the Western Conference, now has the Flames still within striking distance of a playoff spot. Devin Cooley was stellar before he went down with an injury and Dustin Wolf has really picked it up of late when he got back in the crease, and we know how far good goaltending can take you. Can the Flames actually push for a playoff spot?
Overreaction? – Yes
It’s a long 84-game season and as good as the Flames have been of late, it’s hard to imagine them sustaining this for the next five months. There’s just not enough skill throughout this Calgary lineup to compete with some other more talented teams in the West. Plus, you’d think the Flames will be getting some calls on a few of their players before the deadline from contending teams to bolster their roster, which should ultimately weaken the squad even more. An ideal scenario for Flames fans this season would be to see the team play hard, with players like Zayne Parekh, Simon Nemec and Matvei Gridin making great strides and ultimately landing a top pick in the 2027 draft. A return to the post-season may have to wait a couple of years.
Bruins pulled off a perfect retool and are a Cup contender once again
Almost stubbornly, the Boston Bruins refused to rebuild.
The Bruins have walked the tightrope of transitioning from one core of players who aged out to a re-energized group that looks like one of the best in hockey once again. Zdeno Chara slowed down, David Krejci went back to Europe for a year, Patrice Bergeron retired and Brad Marchand was traded, but Boston remained steadfast on not taking a step back.
It looked like the Bruins may have had no choice but to concede defeat after they missed the playoffs in 2024-25, but since then they’ve been on an ascension back up the ladder to the league’s elite. They made the playoffs last year, their ninth appearance in the past 10 campaigns, and now they sit first in the Atlantic, behind only the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference.
Boston hasn’t just found its way back into the playoff mix; they look like one of the league’s elite teams so far this season. The Bruins have a plus-24 goal differential and only five teams have more regulation wins. Head coach Marco Sturm has elevated this Bruins team offensively while incorporating JJ Peterka and James Hagens into the lineup seamlessly. Before Sturm came aboard, Boston finished 28th in goals for that year they missed the playoffs, but last year they jumped up to 10th. This season they sit sixth, up almost a goal per game compared to where they were two years ago.
You could make a real argument that the Bruins have pulled off one of the best retools in recent memory.
Overreaction? – No
The Bruins' trajectory started to shift for the better back at the 2025 trade deadline. In the middle of that lost season, they came out on the right end of the infamous Fraser Minten trade, and they also added Marat Khusnutdinov and Casey Mittelstadt. Those three have become middle-six mainstays and important pieces of the forward group. Instead of just trying to secure picks and prospects at that deadline, the Bruins prioritized players that could contribute immediately and it completely transformed their forward depth.
It also doesn’t hurt that Jeremy Swayman’s rough campaign during the year they missed the playoffs was just a blip. Swayman missed all of training camp that year in a contract stalemate and he struggled to catch up, finishing with a goals-against average above three. Since then, though, Swayman has been lights out. He ranked second in goals saved above expected last season and sits sixth right now. The Bruins gave Swayman a ton of money on his latest contract and we know how unpredictable goalies can be, but he’s been worth every penny thus far to Boston.
As good as Swayman has been, this retool doesn’t even get off the ground if David Pastrnak doesn’t go from a very good player to a superstar. The evolution of his game has been incredible and he’s now making his teammates so much better. Prior to 2023-24, Pastrnak never had more than 52 assists in a season, but since then he’s gone to 63, 63 and then 71 last year. They aren’t empty-calorie helpers either. Pastrnak had 57 primary assists last season, tying Connor McDavid for the league lead. It was also six more than Nikita Kucherov and seven more than Nathan MacKinnon. That is an important development for a shoot-first player who is now maximizing the skill sets of the players around him.
I’m sure there were more than a few teams hoping the Bruins would take a step back in the Atlantic this year, but it feels like another campaign where Boston is going to exceed expectations.
Vezina Trophy is Pyotr Kochetkov’s to lose
Despite a very quiet off-season, the Carolina Hurricanes still look almost unbeatable in defence of their Stanley Cup. That’s thanks in large part to the stellar play of Pyotr Kochetkov, who didn’t even factor into their playoff run last spring but now is clearly the Canes' No. 1 goalie. Kochetkov is off to a 11-1-0 start with a .920 save percentage and nine goals saved above expected. Last year Carolina finished 26th in save percentage and still cruised to a division title before capturing the Cup, so if they continue to get these numbers from Kochetkov, there may be no stopping them. There’s still a long way to go, though Kochetkov could be running away with the Vezina already as the league’s best goaltender.
Overreaction? – Yes
Kochetkov has been a great story, but pencilling him in for the Vezina may be premature. He’s had a hard time staying healthy and the most games he’s played in a season is 47. Kochetkov has only hit the 40-game mark one other time. In that 47-game campaign a couple of years ago, his numbers weren’t as sparkling, as he had a save percentage below .900. I have my doubts Kochetkov will be able to carry this strong play through 50 games or so, which is likely where he’ll need to get to be considered for the Vezina. I’d bet Jesper Wallstedt, Jeremy Swayman, Jake Oettinger and a few other veterans will take up more of the Vezina conversation come award time.
