The Blackhawks Are Fucking Up Their Rebuild By Being Too Good At Hockey
This has been an utterly ridiculous start to the season. Even though I wrote the blog linked above in September, I didn't think we'd see immediate results under Richardson like we have. Just one of those situations where you should read what I say and rather than knee jerk react and say that I am a moron, remember how lucky you are that you have access to my brain for free.
Everything is simple. The team has great attention to detail. They work hard. They're a joy to watch and they've been in every game. If you can't fall in love with a scrappy team like this, don't bother calling a therapist. Call a coroner because you're already dead on the inside.
Someone asked on the twitter spaces chat the other night about how long the Blackhawks can keep this up. My answer was kind of...I don't know. I am not exactly waiting for the other shoe to drop with this team. I am not waiting for the carriage to turn back into a pumpkin. This isn't a situation where you have an insanely hot goalie stealing games. Stalock hasn't been a problem at all. He's been better than expected. He isn't an early season Vezina watch guy either. The penalty kill looks improved, but it's not putting up great numbers. The power play has been fine. The shooting percentage currently at the top of the league, but not some outlandish number. It is likely due for a bit of a correction towards 11%, but that could be balanced by their own save percentage going up.
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My point is...I think I was right. I think this team is going to be competitive all year. Eventually as other teams get their own systems dialed in and there's more tape available on Richardson's Blackhawks there will be more losses, but the things the Blackhawks do well are in their control. Systems are sustainable, details are stainable, effort is sustainable. If you were hoping to Fail Hard For Bedard, I think you should go down to target, get yourself a yoga mat, hit the floor, and start praying to the NHL Lottery Gods every night. At this rate it is going to take some serious luck to get one of these franchise altering guys at the top of the draft. This isn't a playoff team, but we are likely looking at a team that will be miserable to play against every night and that type of culture will keep you out of the top 3. That isn't the worst thing in the world.