The Chicago Blackhawks entered this 2026-2027 season with optimism that this would be the year they begin to ascend in the NHL standings and leave the rebuilding days behind them. This was the first campaign of general manager Kyle Davidson’s tenure in which making the playoffs was outlined as the main goal for this club after multiple years spent acquiring top prospects in the draft. That has not happened as the team finds itself in the depths of the league again 19 games into the season. This begs the question of how much longer these struggles can go on in Chicago before major changes are made by ownership?
Blackhawks Still Far from Contention
Insider Chris Johnston commented on the state of Chicago’s rebuild on his show; his statements do not provide great confidence this ship is trending in the right direction: “I can like some of the individual players they have coming. It just feels like they have nowhere near enough that I don’t see them being that competitive that soon, honestly. And the view I get from around the league is that they’ve mismanaged this kind of rebuild period […] I think that they’re still a ways away from even being reasonably competitive, let alone like trying to compete for a Stanley Cup. And so I respect that they’re saying everybody is going to stay employed and all that stuff, but I think it’s going to be harder and harder not to make bigger changes if, if they don’t pull out of this absolute nosedive right now.”
The Blackhawks organization has remained faithful to the front office and coaching staff, for now. With that said, only so much losing can be tolerated for so long. If this season continues to spiral out of control, it is hard to imagine a world where this same group is running the program in the near future.
Blackhawks Cannot Afford to Waste Connor Bedard
The silver lining for Chicago is that they do have promising young players to build around. Chief among those players is Connor Bedard, the team’s superstar captain that has found a way to deliver results in a difficult situation. Bedard has been able to produce even without a strong supporting cast, having recorded five goals and ten assists through 13 games so far this season.
It is impressive that Bedard has still been effective on this team. It leads to a further question of how much more productive he could be with a better unit around him. This is the type of talent that the Blackhawks cannot afford to waste. It is up to Davidson to provide Bedard the tools he needs to work with; that has not happened yet. There are other intriguing youth pieces that could step up in the future, but the veteran support has been nonexistent. Now would be the time for Chicago to use all the draft capital they have gathered and package these picks for more players that can help them in the present. The clock is ticking for Davidson and crew to translate the team’s potential into wins.
Insider Issues Dire Warning Towards Blackhawks Rebuild