After a stellar start to the season (20-8-0 record), Blackhawks have been a mediocre 10-12-3. All production has seen a decrease across the board. GM Walsh decided changes were required to try and get the team back to a race for the Division Title, that once look like was in the bag earlier this season. The Hawks bolstered their lineup adding the likes of Ryan Suter, Jeff Carter and Andreas Johnsson, but the team started on their slide and haven't rebounded yet. Over the last couple days the Blackhawks have shipped out Ryan Suter, Jeff Carter, Elias Lindholm, Pekka Rinne and Pierre-Luc Dubois to bring in Erik Gudbranson, Martin Reway, Even Fitzpatrick, Kari Lehtonen and superstar Leon Draisaitl. The organization is hoping that Leon and Laine can join forces to get the production back to where it once was. Similar to what is expected to happen in Nashville (in the NHL) Pekka Rinne was moved out to provide room for Jusso Saros. He made his Blackhawks debut tonight versus the Red Wings but lost by a score of 3-1. He will see regular action alongside Sergei Bobrovsky for the remainder of the season, while Kari Lehtonen will be used as a role model for Saros.
Leon Draisaitl returns to the Windy City after he was shipped from Chicago to Detroit for Jack Eichel. Now they will don the same uniform to lead the Hawks for years to come. Draisaitl saw his best numbers during his first stint with the Hawks.