It is still uncertain when the NHL season will begin, when it will end, and what the format will be as far as frequency of games per week and even possible division realignment.
While training camps could open in December, the regular season is most likely not going to kick off in calendar year 2020. January 1 is the supposed new start date.
Furthermore, the NHL recently alluded to not confining itself to concluding the Stanley Cup Playoffs before the Summer Olympics which is July 23 to August 8.
Additionally, the AHL is targeting February 5 as the start of its regular season with training camps presumably happening in the latter half of January.
If the standard 23-player NHL roster remains intact and the schedule is compressed, players will push the limits of energy exertion and conservation over a full slate of games.
Can players find another gear to keep pace in this unprecedented season?
Assuming the NHL starts on January 1 and the AHL starts a month later, there is an opportunity to get creative with rosters.
(Giving credit where it’s due, many of the ideas expressed in this blog are ones that you as loyal readers have contributed on the message boards so thank you for the ideas!)
--
EXPANDED ROSTER
The main idea would be for each team to have its roster expand from 23 to 31 which was the number set for the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles during this past postseason.
On any given gameday, though, the same limit would apply with dressing no more than 18 skaters and two goalies as well as having three healthy scratches.
For each game’s 23-player roster, the salary total needs to be cap compliant.
There could also be a secondary salary cap to take into account the salaries of the eight additional players to get the expanded roster up to 31.
For the eight players who aren’t in the gameday lineup or the healthy scratches, they would be considered the Black Aces. The situation for the Black Aces starts to get tricky, though.
--
DISADVANTAGES
Are the Black Aces allowed to be with the team whether for home or away games?
The downside to that is the Black Aces tends to be the best prospects so it may be detrimental for their development to not play, log minutes, and gain meaningful pro experiences.
Whenever they’re not suiting up for an NHL game, could the Black Aces play for the AHL team instead especially if there’s a game that same day?
The problem with that is not all NHL teams have the luxury of being in local proximity to their farm teams like Chicago is to Rockford, Buffalo is to Rochester, or Vegas is to Henderson.
Ideally there would be flexibility to demote and promote any of the Black Aces throughout the season, yet, factors like waivers would need to be taken into consideration.
--
ADVANTAGES
Benefits to having the Black Aces during the regular season are similar to benefits of the Black Aces during the playoffs. These benefits include:
* Soaking in the playoff atmosphere at the NHL level.
* Practicing with the NHL squad.
* Engaging in the same off-ice training.
* Participating in strategy sessions and team meetings.
* Learning healthy off-ice habits including nutrition and sleep.
Another major benefit is ensuring the Hogs are on the same page as the Hawks as far as style of play, expectations, and systems so a prospect is ready to go upon recall.
--
MLB FORMAT
There were also rumors about the NHL having double headers. Not sure how much traction that idea got but having the Black Aces would help similar to MLB teams having substantial lineup changes from the first game to the second game of the double dip.
I’m not a fan of the double-header idea but would be more supportive of 2-3 game series similar to MLB, especially if there is realignment and regular season games are divisional only.
For example, in a week where there are three games -- not necessarily consecutive days -- have them all against the same team.
Or as another example, in a week where there are four games, the Hawks could play one team in a two-game series then another team in the other two-game series.
If the intent of realignment and divisional games is to minimize travel, I wouldn’t expect home-and-home series, i.e. the first game played at the United Center then the next played at the opponent’s arena.
The proposed realignment would have the Hawks in the same division as the Blues, Predators, Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Panthers, Lightning, and Hurricanes.
Series against the same team are common in the AHL actually. It’s not rare for the Hogs to play the Iowa Wild or Milwaukee Admirals three consecutive times even in the same amount of days.
I’ll admit, it does get boring to watch the same set of teams all season. However, if it’s just for 2020-21, why not. The NHL is looking to reset back to the pre-pandemic season format for 2021-22.
--
THE BLACK ACES
Before we can brainstorm who the Black Aces could be, we first need to outline the Blackhawks roster.
The following standard 23-player roster is based on today’s player personnel and the assumption that Dylan Strome is re-signed.
Pius Suter - Jonathan Toews - Dominik Kubalik
Alex Nylander - Kirby Dach - Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Strome - Andrew Shaw
Mattias Janmark - David Kampf - Lucas Wallmark
Ryan Carpenter, Matthew Highmore
Duncan Keith - Connor Murphy
Calvin de Haan - Ian Mitchell
Nikita Zadorov - Adam Boqvist
Brent Seabrook
Malcolm Subban
Collin Delia
With the NHL roster projected, here are my picks if I could select the eight Black Aces:
* Nicolas Beaudin, D
* Lucas Carlsson, D
* MacKenzie Entwistle, C
* Brandon Hagel, W
* Chad Krys, D
* Philipp Kurashev, C
* Brandon Pirri, C
* John Quenneville, W
Honorable mentions to blueliners Wyatt Kalynuk and Alec Regula.
I’m not enamored with Brandon Pirri and John Quennville’s ability to contribute to the Hawks and consider them as placeholders until more promising forward prospects are ready.
It doesn’t make sense to use one of the eight spots on a goalie when it’s best for the 3rd string tender to be the starter in Rockford.
However, if the NHL mandates that one of the slots be for a goalie, it would have to be whoever out of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, and Kevin Lankinen didn’t make the cut as the Hawks starter and backup.
--
NOTHING CHANGES
The likelihood of expanded rosters seems low given there hasn’t been much -- if any -- discussion around it. But what if the regular season will still be compressed regardless?
There are a few options to consider to mitigate the tiring impact of games coming at a fast-and-furious pace.
One option is to stop the double and triple shifting of Patrick Kane. This seems plausible knowing that Jeremy Colliton desires a trial-by-fire method of having youngsters sink or swim in all game situations.
This doesn’t mean Kane shouldn’t be on the ice more at the end of games or at other critical junctures. However, it’s senseless to have him play with 4th liners in pedestrian situations during the first 40 minutes.
Another option is to constantly flex rosters to keep players -- particularly youngsters still building up 82-game endurance -- fresh and let them learn occasionally from the bird’s-eye-view of the pressbox.
Having three healthy scratches -- whether two forwards and a defender or one forward and two defenders -- need to be leveraged more than in prior years.
For instance, playing every other game may be best for older and/or injury-prone players like Andrew Shaw, Brent Seabrook, and Calvin de Haan.
Colliton has also talked about a revolving door of prospects to grant them chances to play at the NHL level, see what they need to work on, and give their fellow youngsters a breather.
And a third option is evening out allocation of ice time. Again, no more overplaying Kane. And stop having Duncan Keith eat 20+ minutes per game.
We could very well see an equalization of minutes across all forward lines and D pairs. Having David Kampf and Jonathan Toews play the same amount of minutes is in line with Colliton’s stated intentions for this youth movement.
--
See you on the boards!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»