Welcome to the latest edition of Blackhawks Bytes, a series featuring quotes and comments from players, coaches, management, journalists and fans alike concerning everything Chicago Blackhawks. The purpose of this ongoing column is to capture a slice of the existing outlook, attitudes and culture surrounding the team. Please join me as we have some fun with the everyday, albeit fascinating aspect of human nature; the power of words.
Since we’re in the middle of a summer stand-still in the hockey world, I thought it would be a good time to dust off the old Blackhawks Bytes column. Even this time of year there are plenty of things going on behind the scenes. The hockey world never stops, because there’s always another season just around the corner. Let’s uncover some of the latest quips and quotes as we wait for training camp to start.
Remember last offseason when the Blackhawks acquired both Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno from the Boston Bruins? Admit it; you thought Hall would be the more impactful of these two players.
To be fair, Hall might have been just that if he hadn’t torn his ACL, which resulted in him suiting up for only 10 games the entire season. Yet that doesn’t diminish the influence Foligno had last season. With injuries galore and a very young and experienced team to boot, Foligno stepped up big time.
He literally put the team on his back, becoming the de facto captain both on and off the ice. He took rookie phenom Connor Bedard under his wing, showing him the ropes of what it’s like to be a professional hockey player. He also contributed on the ice, tallying 17 goals and 37 points, often-times playing on the top line beside Bedard.
This wasn’t really the plan for Foligno, but he provided when the need arose. This is also exactly what he did this offseason, helping to recruit both Tyler Bertuzzi and Alec Martinez.
It turns out the Blackhawks weren’t even on Bertuzzi’s radar until Foligno called and told him of their interest. Both players are from Sudbury, Ontario, and they played together with the Bruins in the 2022-23 season. Foligno actually helped Bertuzzi get acclimated in Boston as well. Why not do it again?!
I’d say Bertuzzi is happy; he received a four-year contract with a $5.5 million annual cap hit, allowing him some security after playing on one-two-year contracts for the last six seasons.
Martinez, for that matter, didn’t really know Foligno before this. No problem! The two had a conversation on their leadership styles, and decided the 36-year-old (Foligno) and almost 37-year-old (Martinez) could very easily complement each other. Said Martinez on his leadership,
I would say I have somewhat of a longer fuse, but I really like to try to pick my spots. Sometimes, if you say and do too much, then it doesn’t mean as much when you speak up. If you pick your spots and do it at the right time, you’re more often going to get a lot more people to pay attention and listen.
General manager Kyle Davidson can’t complain about Foligno going the extra mile to recruit players.
It’s funny when we hear that. We don’t ask them to do these things, but Nick cares. He knows a lot of people, he loves the team and he wants to push this thing forward. You can see that through some of his discussions he’s had with guys…that he’s willing to tell how great he thinks the Blackhawks organization is. It’s much appreciated.
Foligno is signed for this season and the next with the Blackhawks. Will the organization re-sign him again to finish what he helped to start? Or will they go with the leaders that have stepped up in the meantime? Either way, the veteran should be appreciated for his impact on the rebuild in Chicago.
Richardson’s Road Ahead
Head coach Luke Richardson has made a great impression in his first two seasons as head coach of the Blackhawks. He’s worked with the younger players to foster their development, gained the respect of the veterans, and gotten the most out of his team even when there wasn’t a whole lot of talent to go around. He’s also patient and approachable and holds everyone accountable (including himself).
But now there is more talent to go around, and the organization wants to take that next step and start to win. Can Richardson lead the way in this new direction? He’s certainly saying the right things. After the draft and free agency frenzy, Richardson opened up about the challenges of the last two seasons, and how he sees things evolving.
I think management, that’s their job is to find the best-suited players for us. I think the key is, we’ve had our exit meetings at the end of the year, they expressed where we wanted to go, the organization, and (are) excited to start trying to move this organization forward now. It was a tough two years at times, but there were times we saw some really good signs. So now take those small signs and put some execution around them to make sure we can start moving forward.
(from ‘Is Luke Richardson the right coach for Blackhawks? This season should help answer that’, The AthleticCHI – 7/12/24)
But saying the right things and doing the right things are two separate matters. Richardson received a four-year contract, but his fourth year was designated as a club option. Now headed into the third year of his contract, there will be more pressure on Richardson to see if he can successfully coach a better team, and lead them to more winning.
It was hard to evaluate him when the Blackhawks were intentionally set up as a bad team. But this season the playing field will be more even. Davidson expounded on what they will be looking for from Richardson.
The record and the losing has obviously been tough on everyone, but I also don’t necessarily know if it’s given a true glimpse into what Luke is as a coach, outside of we know he can get guys to show up and compete. That’s a huge part of the job.
Hopefully, with a little bit of a stronger roster coming into camp this year, (it) will allow him to take hold and instill some execution aspects of the game that will be necessary for us to take a step forward this year. It’s a great opportunity for him, a great opportunity for the staff to grab hold of an enhanced group that he can really show what he can do.
That’s an excellent way to put it. Sure, there will be pressure. But this is also an excellent opportunity for Richardson and his coaching staff. After all, they’ve endured two rough seasons where there was a lot of losing. Nobody likes to lose. I’m sure they’re pretty pumped to be given an improved roster and a better chance to win every night. Let’s see what they can do with it!
Reichel Number Change, Roenick Number Retirement?
In mid-July the Blackhawks released numbers for their new players, as well as number changes for a few existing players. It’s good to see that Teuvo Teravainen gets to keep his No. 86 that he’s had all his NHL career, and Kevin Korchinski was able to nab No. 14 that he wore when he was with the Seattle Thunderbirds. One of the adjustments that raised some eyebrows was Lukas Reichel changing from No. 27 to No. 73.
There are numerous theories regarding this change. Did Reichel want to start fresh after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign? 73 was the number he wore in a successful World Championships outing, so this would make sense. I’m sure the 22-year-old will do whatever it takes to change his fortunes for the better.
But wait! There’s also the added nugget that former Blackhawks’ legend Jeremy Roenick sported No. 27 in his time in Chicago. Coincidentally, Roenick was recently named to the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2024. He’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame later his year. Aha, now I think we’re on to something! Does this mean we’re going to see the Blackhawks retire Roenick’s number? Well, they’re not saying so just yet.
I personally think this is the plan, even if the Blackhawks aren’t ready to announce it. The organization retired Marian Hossa’s No. 81 in November of 2022 and Chris Chelios’ No. 7 in February of 2024. This was all part of their new plan which defines jersey retirement as “a player who is amongst the most important individual players of their era to Chicago, based on their on-ice performance and their lifetime contributions to the game of hockey and the Blackhawks organization.”
I believe Roenick could certainly qualify, based on this definition. He was selected eighth overall by the Blackhawks in the 1988 NHL Draft, and spent the first eight seasons of his 20-year NHL career in Chicago. With the Blackhawks, Roenick recorded 267 goals and 329 assists for 596 points in 524 games. This is good for a franchise ninth all-time in goals, and 11th all-time in points.
In his span with the Blackhawks from 1988 to 1996, Roenick was a dynamic scoring forward with a bite to his game. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in his first full season with the Blackhawks, producing 26 goals and 66 points in 78 games.
He didn’t stop there, tallying 41 goals in the 1990-91 season, 53 goals in the 1991-92 season, 50 goals in the 1992-93 season and 46 goals in the 1993-94 season. If you noticed his goal numbers went down in those last two campaigns, these were also the seasons where he contributed 107 points. Obviously, Roenick was growing his game, proving he could disperse the puck to his teammates, and contribute in numerous ways to the overall success of the team. The Massachusetts native was also named to the NHL All-Star game four years in a row.
Roenick and his teammates never did win a Stanley Cup. But they got awfully close, advancing to the Final in the 1991-92 season, only to be swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. While Roenick spent time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, LA Kings and the San Jose Sharks throughout his career, he never had the same amount of success as he did in Chicago.
Riechel may have changed his jersey number to defer to Roenick, but time will tell if Roenick’s No. 27 eventually gets retired by the Blackhawks.
Broissoit Boasts Experience & a Mental Edge
Let’s get back to these current Blackhawks, and their addition of goaltender Laurent Brossoit. When young Arvid Soderblom struggled last season, the Blackhawks wanted more security in net for this coming campaign. Enter 31-year-old Brossoit, who’s made an NHL living being a backup goaltender. This will be his 11th season in the league, having played with the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and most recently the Vegas Golden Knights.
Brossoit’s biggest number of contests played in a single season is only 23 games, which he accomplished with the Golden Knights last season. He also finished the last two seasons with an admirable .927 save percentage. Ideally, Brossoit would like the opportunity to play more, which he felt Chicago could give him. I’m sure a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $3.3 million helped as well.
Yet we can’t forget about Petr Mrazek, who’s signed for the next two campaigns as well. He earned this extension after his solid contributions on the back end last season. But the Blackhawks don’t want to overwork the 32-year-old, and would ideally like to have a 1A-1B tandem with their goaltenders.
Laurent understands this, but he also sees an opportunity to prove himself. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Laurent stated,
To be in a situation where it looks like, contractually speaking and terms of our contract, Mrázek and I are in a very similar boat. I think it’s going to be a situation where we can have a healthy competition and I can earn starts and try to prove to the organization that I can be a bona fide starter. It was a perfect stepping stone for me to get to the ultimate goal of becoming a starter one day.
(from ‘New Blackhawks goalie Laurent Brossoit eager to prove himself in larger role’, The AthleticCHI – 7/18/24)
But what really gets me is what Brossoit said about getting to know Mrazek, as the two haven’t met yet. “Outside looking in, he looks like a great guy. He seems like a very passionate dude. I’m honestly really looking forward to working with him.”
Well, there you have it! Actually, these two netminders do seem to have a lot in common. Brossoit is 31, while Mrazek is just one year older. Brossoit sports a 6-foot-3, 204-pound physique, but Mrazek is no slouch at 6-foot-2, 188 pounds. And they’re both a couple of passionate dudes!
One final quote from Brossoit,
There’s the classic cliché that goaltenders take longer to develop; it is true. There is a big piece of the mental game and having the experience to be calm in the net.
This is something that Soderblom hasn’t really figured out yet. But both Brossoit and Mrazek boast experience and a strong mental game. This tandem could be a pleasant surprise this coming season.
