For the first half of this decade, there was no stopping the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings. This used to be the time of year when both clubs were out beating the bushes for scoring help or an extra hard-nosed defenceman who could play a role — big or small — in the playoffs. After all, each team could see the other on the horizon and think, “It’s going to take everything we’ve got to get past those guys.”
The two clubs combined to win five of the six Stanley Cups handed out between 2010 and 2015, and by the middle of that run the reasonable question each spring was, who would you rather bet on to come out of the West; one of Chicago or L.A., or literally anybody else in the field?
Of course, unless you’re the New England Patriots, championship parade routes have a way of eventually winding into the sewer. The Blackhawks missed the playoffs last year and haven’t won a post-season series since the 2015 final. Los Angeles has missed the spring dance two of the past four seasons and also hasn’t won a first-round set since lifting the Cup in 2014. Last April, L.A. was swept in four games by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Both clubs have fired a coach since the start of this season and spent time at the bottom of the league-wide standings. With that in mind, we pose a new query: With both of these squads faltering, is one of them more likely than the other to find happiness again quickly?
(This topic was also recently addressed on the Tape to Tape podcast and was expanded to include another fall-from-grace outfit, the Anaheim Ducks.)
Maybe the past two weeks offer a reliable answer, as the Blackhawks ripped off a seven-game winning streak to climb back into the Western Conference wild-card race. Still, we figured this issue — given all these franchises achieved in the recent past — was worth a deeper dive.
Here’s a breakdown of the findings.
FRANCHISE FACES
Things are actually pretty good in Chicago, where Patrick Kane is in contention for the Art Ross Trophy and Jonathan Toews is on pace for his best point total in a full season. Both players turned 30 on their most recent birthdays.
In Los Angeles, 31-year-old Anze Kopitar was an MVP finalist last year and, though he’ll fall well short of the marvellous 92 points he put up in that campaign, he’s still a do-it-all, No. 1 centre. Drew Doughty turned 29 a couple months ago and, this past summer, signed an eight-year contract extension that kicks in next fall. The annual cap hit is $11 million, but with Doughty’s smarts and mobility, that will never look like wasted money.
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CUMBERSOME CONTRACTS
A couple years ago, Kings right winger Dustin Brown would have seemed like a runaway winner with a $5.875-million hit that runs through 2021-22. However, the former L.A. captain notched 28 goals in a remarkable comeback campaign last year and is still on a 21-goal pace this season.
Given that, the award for biggest albatross has to go to Chicago’s Brent Seabrook and his $6.875-million deal that runs for five seasons after this one. The organization surely believes the 33-year-old defenceman earned every penny with his contributions during the Cup years, but that is one unmovable contract.
GOALTENDING
This has been a major subplot in both cities, but especially Chicago, where Corey Crawford’s concussion issues have been such that you just hope he can continue his career, nevermind re-discover the form that had him play a vital role in the 2013 and ’15 Cup runs. The 34-year-old is expected to return from his most recent hiatus any day now.
In his absence, undrafted Collin Delia, 24, has done enough to earn himself a three-year contract extension.
Jonathan Quick, who just turned 33, has also had some forced absences, missing most of the 2016-17 season with a groin injury and having minor knee surgery last fall. Jack Campbell, an 11th overall pick by Dallas in 2010 (fun fact: no goalie has been drafted that high since), has a .933 save percentage in 18 games this year, which marks his first regular NHL work.
SIGNIFICANT TRADE PIECES
At this point, it would still register as a shock if any of the — to borrow a term from the early-2000s New York Yankees — ‘Core 4’ got moved, meaning Toews and Kane in Chicago, and Kopitar and Doughty in L.A.
Los Angeles is clearly ready to be more active here, having already pulled the trigger on the deal that sent defenceman Jake Muzzin to Toronto for a return package built around a first-rounder. The injured Jeff Carter is thought to be available and he scored 24 goals in three playoff seasons from 2012 to 2014, more than any other player in the league. At 34, somebody surely believes there are a few post-season goals left in that right-shot stick. Winger Tyler Toffoli’s name is another one that comes up and if the Kings are prepared to eat some of winger Ilya Kovalchuk’s salary, they could almost certainly find the big Russian a new home.
Where things really get interesting is with the would they/wouldn’t they guys. Are the Kings frisky enough to pick up the phone and call — oh, say, the Florida Panthers — and see if they’re interested Quick?
And what about Duncan Keith in Chicago? The no-movement clause complicates things and until the situation comes to a clear resolution, we’re likely to keep hearing reports about whether the Hawks will or will not officially ask him to waive.
If Chicago would swallow about half-a-million to get Keith’s cap hit down to an even $5 million, surely the savvy D-man would hold some intrigue for a team that could use him in a reduced role on the second pair. He doesn’t turn 36 until this off-season and, though there are a million miles on that Conn Smythe-winning body, it’s not like he’s a bruiser prone to physical breakdown. My guess is he’ll still be an effective — if slightly overpaid — blue-liner for two or three more seasons.[sidebar]
THE NEXT GENERATION
This is where Chicago really outshines L.A.
Last season may have been miserable in Illinois, but the team incorporated Alex DeBrincat into the lineup and, after scoring 28 goals as a rookie, he has already exceeded that total with 25 games to go in his sophomore year. What’s more, the Hawks picked up DeBrincat’s former major junior teammate, Dylan Strome, in a trade with Arizona in November. While the cost was young blue-chipper Nick Schmaltz, Strome has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 34 outings as a Hawk, finally making good on his third-overall promise from 2015.
The emergence of 26-year-old defenceman Erik Gustafsson this year also registers a significant positive.
The Kings, meanwhile, are one of the oldest teams in the league with no serious under-23 building blocks contributing right now.
BOUNCE-BACK POTENTIAL
Perhaps some recency bias colours the equation, but it’s hard to argue the Kings are better positioned for a quick turnaround than the Hawks.
That said, maybe we can do this exercise again in the summer if the Kings draft Jack Hughes first overall and lure former Blackhawk and beach-coveting UFA winger Artemi Panarin to the west coast.
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