2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks season

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2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks
Division7th Central
Conference13th Western
2017–18 record33–39–10
Home record18–18–5
Road record15–21–5
Goals for229
Goals against256
Team information
General managerStan Bowman
CoachJoel Quenneville
CaptainJonathan Toews
Alternate captainsDuncan Keith
Brent Seabrook
ArenaUnited Center
Average attendance21,653[1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
Indy Fuel (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsAlex DeBrincat (28)
AssistsPatrick Kane (49)
PointsPatrick Kane (76)
Penalty minutesJohn Hayden (54)
Plus/minusAlex DeBrincat (+6)
WinsCorey Crawford (16)
Goals against averageCorey Crawford (2.27)

The 2017–18 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 92nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The Blackhawks finished the season with 76 points (19 points out of the final playoff spot) to finish in last place in the Central Division of the Western Conference. The season marked the first time since 2008 where the Blackhawks failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs and the team's worst regular season performance since 2007.

Prior to the season, the Blackhawks made several moves in an attempt to make up for the prior season's playoff disappointment. As a result, the team traded their second-leading goal scorer from the prior season, Artemi Panarin, to the Columbus Blue Jackets for former Blackhawk Brandon Saad.[2] In addition, the team traded arguably their most reliable defenseman, Niklas Hjalmarsson, to the Arizona Coyotes for defenseman Connor Murphy.[3] Numerous other moves were made in an attempt to change the team.[4][5] Also, forward Marian Hossa announced he would not play for the Blackhawks during the season due to a skin condition that was aggravated by wearing hockey equipment.[6] As a result, Hossa was placed on long-term injured reserve.[7]

Patrick Kane led the team in scoring with 76 points while rookie forward Alex DeBrincat led the team in goals with 28.[8] The Blackhawks had five players score 20 or more goals: DeBrincat, Kane (27), Nick Schmaltz (21), Artem Anisimov (20) and Jonathan Toews (20). Goalie Corey Crawford only played 28 games, missing the final 47 games of the season with an undisclosed injury.[9]

Despite the disappointing season, team president John McDonough announced that general manager Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville would return for the 2018–19 season.[10][11]

Standings[edit]

Central Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 p – Nashville Predators 82 53 18 11 47 267 211 +56 117
2 x – Winnipeg Jets 82 52 20 10 48 277 218 +59 114
3 x – Minnesota Wild 82 45 26 11 42 253 232 +21 101
4 x – Colorado Avalanche 82 43 30 9 41 257 237 +20 95
5 St. Louis Blues 82 44 32 6 41 226 222 +4 94
6 Dallas Stars 82 42 32 8 38 235 225 +10 92
7 Chicago Blackhawks 82 33 39 10 32 229 256 −27 76
Source: National Hockey League[12]
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy; x – Clinched playoff spot
Western Conference Wild Card
Pos Div Team GP W L OTL ROW GF GA GD Pts
1 PA x – Los Angeles Kings 82 45 29 8 43 239 203 +36 98
2 CE x – Colorado Avalanche 82 43 30 9 41 257 237 +20 95
3 CE St. Louis Blues 82 44 32 6 41 226 222 +4 94
4 CE Dallas Stars 82 42 32 8 38 235 225 +10 92
5 PA Calgary Flames 82 37 35 10 35 218 248 −30 84
6 PA Edmonton Oilers 82 36 40 6 31 234 263 −29 78
7 CE Chicago Blackhawks 82 33 39 10 32 229 256 −27 76
8 PA Vancouver Canucks 82 31 40 11 31 218 264 −46 73
9 PA Arizona Coyotes 82 29 41 12 27 208 256 −48 70
Source: National Hockey League[13]
x – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results[edit]

Pre-season[edit]

The Blackhawks published their preseason schedule on June 8, 2017.[14]

Regular season[edit]

The Blackhawks released their regular season schedule on June 22, 2017.[15]

2017–18 game log

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Detailed records[edit]

Player statistics[edit]

Final Stats[16]

Skaters[edit]

Regular season[17]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Patrick Kane 82 27 49 76 −20 30
Alex DeBrincat 82 28 24 52 6 6
Nick Schmaltz 78 21 31 52 1 18
Jonathan Toews 74 20 32 52 −1 47
Brandon Saad 82 18 17 35 −10 14
Duncan Keith 82 2 30 32 −29 28
Artem Anisimov 72 20 11 31 −17 22
Brent Seabrook 81 7 19 26 −3 38
Ryan Hartman 57 8 17 25 5 58
Vinnie Hinostroza 50 7 18 25 9 10
Patrick Sharp 70 10 11 21 −16 14
Jan Rutta 57 6 14 20 −1 22
Richard Panik 37 6 10 16 3 26
Erik Gustafsson 35 5 11 16 1 6
Jordan Oesterle 55 5 10 15 −11 8
Connor Murphy 76 2 12 14 −3 34
John Hayden 47 4 9 13 −4 54
Gustav Forsling 41 3 10 13 −2 8
Tommy Wingels 57 7 5 12 −10 43
David Kampf 46 4 7 11 −9 12
Tomas Jurco 29 6 4 10 1 12
Lance Bouma 53 3 6 9 1 36
Anthony Duclair 23 2 6 8 0 6
Michal Kempny 31 1 6 7 13 12
Cody Franson 23 1 6 7 −1 8
Tanner Kero 8 1 2 3 1 0
Carl Dahlstrom 11 0 3 3 −2 0
Dylan Sikura 5 0 3 3 2 0
Matthew Highmore 13 2 0 2 −4 0
Andreas Martinsen 9 1 0 1 −1 17
Blake Hillman 4 1 0 1 −1 0
Victor Ejdsell 6 0 1 1 −1 0

Goaltenders[edit]

Regular season[18]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Corey Crawford 28 27 1584 16 9 2 60 2.27 842 .929 2 0 0 0
Anton Forsberg 35 30 1715 10 16 4 85 2.97 921 .908 0 0 1 0
Jeff Glass 15 13 821 3 7 3 46 3.36 452 .898 0 0 0 2
Jean-Francois Berube 13 10 667 3 6 1 42 3.78 398 .894 0 0 0 0
Collin Delia 2 2 106 1 1 0 7 4.04 63 .889 0 0 0 2
Scott Foster 1 0 14 0 0 0 0 0.00 7 1.000 0 0 0 0

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only.
‡Left team mid-season. Stats reflect time with Blackhawks only.

Awards and honours[edit]

Awards[edit]

Milestones[edit]