The Chicago Blackhawks might be in trouble at the faceoff dot

The Chicago Blackhawks went out and addressed holes in the lineup this offseason. Kyle Davidson worked hard to make some big additions to the forward group, defensive pairs and goaltending all to help the team succeed. But the team still has one area to address.

Last season, the Blackhawks were 23 in the league in faceoffs won, with a faceoff percentage of 46.3 percent. Playing with the puck is critical to winning games, and if the Blackhawks are not getting the puck consistently off of the faceoff it will set them back game in and game out.

One major area the Blackhawks need to improve this season has to be the faceoff circle.

The Blackhawks top faceoff winners last season were Jason Dickinson (618 faceoff wins at 50%), Nick Foligno (228 faceoff wins at 52.4%), Connor Bedard (207 faceoff wins at 38.9%), MacKenzie Entwistle (172 faceoff wins at 43.8%) and Tyler Johnson (207 faceoff wins at 44.4%).

Well, off the bat one bad piece of news for the Blackhawks comes with the fact that Entwistle and Johnson are no longer on the team. Those two players alone won over 300 faceoffs combined last season. Of the players the Blackhawks added this offseason, only Teuvo Teravainen could really handle his own in the faceoff dot but he hasn’t taken more then 150 faceoffs in a season dating back to the 2016-17 NHL Season.

The Blackhawks need help at the faceoff dot.

Connor Bedard’s rookie season was a success. The first overall pick won the Calder Trophy and registered 61 points in 68 games. Playing in his first season of professional hockey, Bedard fit right in amongst the best in the game.

One area that wasn’t great however was his faceoff results. Bedard had a faceoff percentage of just 38.9, Jonathan Toews came into the league iwth a faceoff percentage of 53.2 during his rookie season winning 509 faceoffs.

One reason for optimism can be seen in a player like Connor McDavid. McDavid had a faceoff percentage of just 41.2 percent during his rookie season – winning 249 faceoffs in 45 games. Within just a few seasons, McDavid would jump five percentage points to a 46 percent in the faceoff dot, before jumping to 51 percent the past few seasons.

McDavid improved over time, and Bedard can too. But this season, the Blackhawks will need all hands on deck.

It isn’t all doom in gloom when it comes to the Blackhawks outlook down the middle. Andreas Athanasiou played in just 28 games last season before injuries ended his year. He is someone the Blackhawks will lean on heavily down the middle. In the Hawks 3-2 OT loss to the Blues on Saturday he went 9 for 13 on the draw winning 69.2 percent.

The Blackhawks will also look to use Teravainen more in the middle – in the Hawks first preseason game he took eight faceoffs winning six of them. Bedard is 5 for 18 on the draw in the preseason. With a more veteran heavy lineup expected to play tonight in Minnesota, keep an eye on how the team performs at the faceoff circle.

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