How to look at the 25-26 Blackhawks season
When looking at the 25-26 Blackhawks season, it’s possible to have 1,000 different interpretations. Was it an overall good season, marked by a really horrible last month? Was it an overall bad season, covered up by a really good start? The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Beyond the record however, there are plenty of things to be excited about for next season.
It’s important to note the point totals for the last couple seasons:
2025–26: 72 pts
2024–25: 61 pts
2023–24: 52 pts (Bedard’s first season)
2022–23: 59 pts
2021–22: 68 pts
Photo by: Chicago Blackhawks
Now, let’s review how this season went:
October: 5-4-2
November: 6-5-3
Let’s pause here for a moment. On November 30th, Chicago had an 11-9-5 record. However, they had a 10-5-4 record on November 18th. They were definitely starting to cool off by the end of the month.
December: 3-8-2
Connor Bedard got injured on December 12th, they had a 13-12-6 record coming into the night. In the remaining 8 games of the month, they would go 1-6-1. Frank Nazar got injured on December 20th, leaving Chicago without their 2 best players. The record on December 30th was 14-18-7.
January: 7-7-2
Bedard would return on January 9th, Nazar on January 22nd. The record on the 22nd was 21-22-7. Neither looked particularly great when they came back however, suggesting they were not fully healthy. The Blackhawks did win 4 games in a row to start the month.
February: 1-3-0
Only 4 games in February because of the Olympic break.
March: 5–6–5
April 2-5-0
The Trade Deadline was on March 6th; Chicago traded their entire leadership core (Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, and Jason Dickinson). Those players were good defensively as well. On March 24th, the Blackhawks were 27–31–13 with 11 games left. I don’t think anyone expected them to go 2-8-1 in those final 11. However, we saw the youngest team in the league hit a wall.
Remember when I said Chicago was 14-18-7 on December 30th? On March 24th, recall that they were 27–31–13. Overall, that’s a consistent record. The record only got “bad” during the late season collapse.
Photo by: Chicago Blackhawks
In addition, the season had genuinely great moments. Bedard took a big step forward, Spencer Knight looked Vezina-caliber in most games, Nazar proved he can be elite when healthy. Anton Frondell shined in his first 10 games, Nick Lardis proved he belongs in the NHL. Even Artyom Levshunov had great flashes, although he has a lot more developing to do. The hope is that next season, even more young players take steps forward.
That said, the season still could've gone a lot better. The Chicago coaching staff needs to make sure the team is ready from game 1 to game 84. They also need to make sure the lines are conducive to helping the players succeed. It is up to General Manager Kyle Davidson to bring in quality players to help insulate the young players. Yes, the team will likely be very young next year too. There will be growing pains. But we can’t have a repeat of the last 11 games.
Still, as the month-by-month record indicates, this team just had 2 horrible months. As mentioned, December featured injuries to our 2 best players. That is important context when looking at what happened. Given that, the season was a good step forward. The team went through a lot, and there were tough moments for sure. But as long the young players continue to develop, there’s no reason to think next season won’t be even better.
