Examining the Defensive Possibilities for the 2019-20 Blackhawks
With potentially nine NHL defensemen under contract for the upcoming season, Stan Bowman should be done adding to the blue line. The question remains, will he be subtracting before opening night?
Stan has said that it is time to shift focus to the forward group, he believes that his NHL defensemen are all but set in stone for the upcoming season, but I can’t help but wonder if he is just playing it close to the chest while exploring the trade market. Chicago already has eight defensemen on the NHL roster including Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta, Connor Murphy, Erik Gustafsson, Slater Koekkooek, and Carl Dahlstrom, not even including Henri Jokiharju.
My biggest concern in all of this is that Chicago is going to put the 20-year-old right-handed defenseman back in Rockford when he is clearly ready for NHL minutes. Jokiharju is a better skater than at least three of the eight current defensemen, and a better overall player than about half of that lineup. The problem remains that moving Brent Seabrook or having him as a healthy scratch just isn’t going to happen. After this season Chicago will have to make room for at least two of Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin, and Ian Mitchell unless some sort of trade happens. But for now, let’s remain focused on opening night for 2019.
Trade Options
If Chicago wants to maximize the bang for their buck, the biggest trade chip would be Erik Gustafsson. The only problem is that Gustafsson is the biggest bargain on the roster as is, with one year left on a $1.2 million deal, Gustafsson was one of only six blue liners in the NHL to put up 60 points last season. After adding de Haan and Maatta, Chicago could really use a dynamic skater and offensive defenseman in the lineup, not to mention the fact that he really helped raise Duncan Keith’s overall game last season when they were paired together. The only thing that would make him expendable at the moment is if Boqvist or Beaudin is ready to contribute in a big way, which I don’t see happening.
Connor Murphy is another option, I think he would be a great fit in Toronto, I just don’t know who Chicago gets back in that trade. I originally had him going in a package for Kasperi Kapanen, however, that ship has sailed. Murphy is a relatively low-cost defenseman that is really solid on the second or third pairing and has more offensive upside than many give him credit for.
The only trade that I think is bound to happen for Chicago is involving Artem Anisimov once Chicago pays him his signing bonus tomorrow, one of the lower cost defensemen could be a part of that trade, but it really is up in the air at this point. As I am writing this, Chicago just traded for Andrew Shaw, which would have been a prime opportunity to try and get rid of a low-cost defenseman, but it appears only draft picks were involved in that transaction.
Defensive Pairings
My first set of defensive pairings is extremely idealistic like I mentioned above, it is highly unlikely that Seabrook is moved or slotted as a seventh defenseman. This would be the ideal situation for the Hawks to really take a big step forward, but regardless, the blue line is already much improved from 2018-19.
This lineup would ideally let Keith and Gustafsson run the table offensively and drive possession, hopefully helping Keith along the way like it did last season. Murphy and Jokiharju are interchangeable on the second and third pairing, the important thing is that the second pairing with de Haan will be the shutdown pairing, while the third pairing with Maatta can be sheltered and play low event hockey against the opposing team’s bottom six.
With the offseason acquisitions that Stan has made, the message and methodology is pretty clear. Not only is the goal to be better defensively, but the bigger picture is to take a lot of pressure off of Keith and Seabrook, especially when it comes to killing penalties. The PK would include de Haan, Maatta, Murphy, and Jokiharju ideally, allowing Keith and Seabrook to focus on 5v5 and powerplay minutes, making them more effective in their twilight years.
We are seeing a similar strategy with the forwards as well, Bowman has said that his goal is to take a lot of faceoff and penalty kill pressure off of Jonathan Toews, the team doesn’t need all new players, they just need to be able to put their core players in the right positions to fully utilize them.
Realistically, however, the lineup will look a little different than that, so let’s dive in:
Now, I will admit that this lineup isn’t much different than my ideal look with the current group, but the point is that I firmly believe this lineup is a downgrade. Seabrook brings a lot to the table, and maybe he will thrive if they actually shelter him this year, but those are big ifs. I think that as it stands, Jokiharju is a better hockey player for almost $6 million less and I think it could be extremely bad for his development if he is not in the NHL this season.
1st pairing
Keith and Gustafsson is going to be the go-to for almost everyone, a dynamic offensive pairing that help boost Duncan Keith’s effectiveness as he turns 35. You can split these two up for the powerplay, but 5v5 I think this pairing is a lock that doesn’t need much explanation.
2nd Pairing
This is without a doubt the shutdown pairing. Many have compared de Haan to the beloved Niklas Hjalmarsson, and rightfully so. Neither defenseman is flashy, they both block a tone of shots, and they both can go games on end without even being noticed (in a good way). You can rely on de Haan to play 20 minutes a night against the opponent’s top line, and he will not make many mistakes in doing so. Murphy looked good after missing time do to a back injury at the beginning of last season, and could finally have a partner to form a legit shutdown pairing. While de Haan will play sound positioning and block shots, Murphy brings a little bit more speed to the pairing as well as a physical presence when he wants to.
3rd Pairing
It will be interesting to see if sheltering Seabrook can extend his usefulness with the Hawks, although he is not mobile anymore, Seabrook can still log meaningful minutes and play on the powerplay if he is not tasked with playing on the penalty kill a ton as in years past. Maatta is the biggest if, in this lineup, he is only 24 years of age but has a ton of NHL experience and two Stanley Cups. Maatta, much like de Haan will be a stay at home guy that blocks shots and plays responsibly, potentially giving Seabrook a little more leash to take risks than he has had the past few seasons with younger defensemen. I don’t love this pairing, but I think it is serviceable if used correctly.
We will see in the coming days if anyone gets moved from this group, but it will be better than the past few seasons. Although a lot of the success will depend on the health of Crawford between the pipes, I think we can make the assumption that this lineup is much more respectable in the 15-20 range as far as defensive units are concerned as compared to the bottom five where they resided this past season.
As today rolls on we will see the roster start to take shape, by the end of the week we should have a good look at what opening night will look like.
Feature Image: Chicago Tribune
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