10 Thoughts on the Blackhawks

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After 25 games, it's time to take stock of where the Blackhawks are at in this 2017-18 season. The Hawks record of 12-9-4 reflects the mixed bag that is the Blackhawks. So, here are 10 thoughts about the Hawks.

Corey Crawford is an elite goaltender. For quite a while I thought Crawford was a good, though not an elite goalie. I was wrong. The Hawks are bouncing around the cutoff for playoff teams, and that's largely a byproduct of Crawford's work. It would be nice if the Hawks weren't so dependent on Crawford.

Alex DeBrincat is the real deal. While the Hawk's core is getting older, DeBrincat looks like he will be a key member of the team for years to come. He has a nose for the net and also has excellent play making skills. Despite his small stature he plays much bigger. He's another reason to watch the Hawks.

Jonathan Toews is slowing down. Toews seemed to be in decline last season and this year only reinforces that idea. It was hoped that adding Brandon Saad would rejuvenate Toews, but that hasn't happened. That's not to say Toews isn't a good player, he's just no longer an elite one.

Brent Seabrook's contract is going to play out really bad. Seabrook's contract is a cap hit of $6.875 million through the 2023-24 season. I didn't understand the contract at the time it was issued to Seabrook and I don't feel any better about it now. Once again, Seabrook is a nice player, but he's not worth the cap hit of his contract.

Connor Murphy isn't a top four defenseman. Murphy is a physical presence but he's not nearly the defenseman Nicklas Hjalmarrsson was. The exchange of Hammer for Connor Murphy and Anton Forsburg was primarily salary cap driven, and it shows.

Anton Forsberg is a decent backup goalie. While Forsberg isn't in the same category of Scott Darling as a backup goalie, he is at least functional and has a fairly high ceiling. Not a bad find for the Hawks.

Gustav Forsling and Jan Rutta aren't bad. With Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the back 9 of their careers, it's imperative that the Hawks get younger on the blue line. Forsling is 21 and Ruuta is 27. These guys are good now and should only improve.

The Hawks fourth line isn't bad. I admit I've never been as big a Marcus Kruger fan as some, so I'm naturally willing to give new fourth line guys the benefit of the doubt. Tommy Wingels, Lance Bouma and John Hayden play a physical game while actually having the capacity to score the occasional goal. This is an upgrade for the Hawks.

Patrick Sharp isn't the Patrick Sharp of old. As should be expected, Sharp isn't the sniper he used to be. Instead of 30 goals, think 10-15. It doesn't mean he's not useful, he's just far past being part of the Hawks core.

Nick Schmaltz has some legitimate play making skills. Despite the loss of Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov continue to produce. That's in part, because of Schmaltz's ability with the puck. 

The Hawks have been able to add some young blood to their team, whether it will be enough to offset the decline of their core is the question.