Zawaski: Blackhawks Lacking Cohesion, Not Talent
By Jay Zawaski--
(CBS) Before this season began, several Blackhawks observers asked themselves, "Could this year's team be deeper than the 2015 Stanley Cup champions?"
It was a valid question that I even asked myself. Sure, losing key pieces like Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad and Johnny Oduya would hurt, but those players were replaced with NHL talent like Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Ryan Garbutt, Trevor Daley, Viktor Tikhonov and Artemi Panarin. Surely the sum of those parts could equal what was lost in those departures.
I still think they can, despite the Blackhawks' 2-3 start and and sometimes unimpressive play early in the season.
It's rare to see a Blackhawks team struggling to get possession of the puck, let alone keep control. They've long been one of the league's top possession teams. This year, Chicago's 18th overall with a 49.3 Corsi for percentage.
Where's this problem stem from? It's not a lack of ability or talent. It's a lack of chemistry and cohesion.
In Thursday night's lineup, the Blackhawks featured six players who are new to the organization this season. Two more -- Teuvo Teravainen and Trevor van Riemsdyk -- have combined for 87 NHL games (including the playoffs).
Chicago's dominant possession has always started and ended with its defensemen. Their collective ability to move the puck quickly, accurately and often over long distances has been their bread and butter. Their system is also complex.
Without even looking at the numbers, you can see defensemen Trevor Daley and Viktor Svedberg struggling with positioning and their offensive decision-making. The adjustments will come, and the new faces have shown flashes of turning it around. In fact, I think that Tikhonov has been one of the more impressive Blackhawks over the last two games.
Once the defensemen get up to speed, the Blackhawks should begin to look like the Blackhawks again. In the meantime, I'd like to see coach Joel Quenneville tinker with the defensive pairings a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the Daley/van Riemsdyk pairing. Even though van Riemsdyk has looked solid defensively so far, Quenneville has him in the unenviable role of bailing out Daley, who will be a defensive adventure even when he does adapt to the system. I don't like young players being handed the important role on a pairing.
The Quenneville line blender has been switched to puree with the forwards. I'm sure it will happen on the back end soon.
I know it's easy to say the Blackhawks look sloppy or uninspired, but just know that a team with this much talent and experience will eventually figure it out.
After all, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last season after a fairly unimpressive regular season. As long as they get in, they're a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
Jay Zawaski is the executive producer of the Spiegel and Goff Show on 670 The Score and the Blackhawks columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayZawaski670.
