The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to turn their season around, having started the campaign with a disappointing 5-13-1 record. They got a much needed win in Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime victory at home against the Buffalo Sabres, which snapped a six game losing streak heading into that matchup. General manager Kyle Davidson is assessing the trade market, looking to make upgrade’s to the struggling roster. One position that has been clearly identified as needing improvement is the defense; the Blackhawks have given up the second most goals against in the NHL with 78. Only the Vancouver Canucks have allowed more goals, having given up 90 to this point.
Blackhawks Could Add to Blueline
Davidson is currently searching for a fix to Chicago’s defensive woes. Insider Frank Seravalli provided the latest Blackhawks updates on CHSN: “Kyle Davidson has been making calls this week. They are trying to get a veteran defenseman to add to this group, not just to support it now, but to support it in the future.”
Seravalli went on to say that Davidson is targeting a “significant” addition to the blueline. The team is not interested in another short-term solution to their problems, but a player that would make a meaningful difference on the backend. They are looking for experience, with every defenseman on the team below the age of 26. Ian Cole is the lone vet amongst the group, however the 37 year old is trending towards the end of his playing days. Someone closer to the prime of their playing days would be a welcome addition to this d-core, with that said those players are not easy to acquire.
Blackhawks Defense has been a Struggle
It is not an ideal development that this team is being forced to address their blueline this early in the campaign. Davidson already made plenty of sacrifices this past offseason in his efforts of improving the team’s defending. The big move of the summer was the Bowen Byram trade, in which Chicago gave up their fourth overall draft pick and additional key assets for the former Buffalo defender.
Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the early returns from Byram have not been promising so far. Byram has suited up in just six games, recording one assist across that stint. He has missed the last month with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Byram has been seen practicing with the team this week in a non-contact jersey, but there is no timetable yet in regards to when he draws back into the lineup.
With Byram on the sidelines, it has been a massive struggle for this young Blackhawks defense. Byram was brought in to be this team’s number one d-man, munch minutes and quarterback the power play. Another big reason why he was brought in was to take pressure off some of these inexperienced defensemen. The effect’s have not been able to be seen yet with Byram out of the mix. Therefore, adding in another defenseman to give support would make sense. It will be interesting to see what Davidson does in an attempt to solve this dilemma.
Blackhawks Looking for “Significant” Addition to Defense