A new year means new faces. And the Chicago Blackhawks are going to have A LOT of them. Last year saw a lot of roster turmoil and transition. Injuries opened some opportunities before the trades began and then the selling created more holes to fill. We’ve talked about the lack of production up front last year a lot; the numbers put up by the forwards who filled Luke Richardson’s lineup last year were… very pedestrian. But two players stood out: Andreas Athanasiou and Taylor Raddysh.
Raddysh, 25, had his best NHL season. Frankly, that wasn’t hard; he was buried in Tampa and his first full-season opportunity to show what he could do was with the Blackhawks last year. Once a second-round pick by the Lightning (in 2016), Raddysh appeared in 53 games for the Bolts before he was traded in the package for Brandon Hagel during the 2021-22 season. He scored five times in those 53 contests.
Last year, Raddysh was handed a more prominent role in Chicago’s offense and he took full advantage. After getting barely 11 minutes of ice time per night for Tampa, that increased to 16:34 per game for the Hawks last season. Raddysh scored 20 goals (13 at even-strength) and became a useful player on the power play.
And he ꦅdid that with a $758,333 cap hit, making him one of the best bargains in the entire NHL.
When we look at Raddysh’s 5-on-5 time from last year (thanks to the good people at ), we find he spent most of his time as his center. Indeed, almost 46 percent of his ice time last year (465:58) came with Toews on the ice, and that was limited because of the time Toews missed. Sadly, Toews is gone.
So, one of the 𝐆big questions the 𒊎Blackhawks will need to answer in training camp is who will skate with Raddysh this season?
Most of the forwards we expect to see in the lineup in the opener in Pittsburgh weren’t here last year. Indeed, outside of Athanasiou and Raddysh, the only other forwards who appeared in at least 70 games last year were Kurashev and Jason Dickinson. The additions of Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Corey Perry and Ryan Donato via trade and free agency, the injection of Lukas Reichel full-time and addition of Connor Bedard through the draft means the Blackhawks will have ꦿan almost completely nꦺew look up front.
I am working with the theory that the LW-C combinations on the Blackhawks’ top two lines will be Hall-Bedard and Athanasiou-Reichel. Both lines need a right wing, and Raddysh’s 20-goal performance last year make him a candidate with either line.
The assumption is that Bedard will be your top-line center. I am one of those who believes Hall on the lefꦅt win꧂g with Bedard is a good situation for the young forward in every way, and both players could be very productive together. That line could be a very good spot for Raddysh to be on the right wing. A guy who does a good job of cleaning up garbage around the net could enjoy a lot of success with Hall and Bedard getting the green light to be high-volume shooters.
Kurashev is coming back on his two-year deal (thanks, arbitration) but Toews is gone. And with all of the new faces I mentioned above, the lines will likely be a work-in-progress well into the regular season. I do wonder how the organization views Kurashev, who has shown flashes ofཧ more ability than the back of his hockey card would lead you to believe is there.
Earlier this week I wrote about how the chemistry that developed b🌠etween Athanasiou and Reichel made that pair a likely match to start the coming season. And there’s a chance we see either/both of them playing more center this season than we have previously (especially in the NHL in the case of Reichel).
Raddysh only spent 55:54 at even-strength with Athanasiou last year in the 77 games in which they both appeared. That isn’t a great sample size to work with; only one goal was scored in those almost 56 minutes, and it was by the Blackhawks. So that’s something… I guess.
The skater who spent the most time on Raddysh’s off-wing was Philipp Kurashev. He spent almost as much even-strength time with Kurashev on his line (456:10) in 70 games as he did in 49 games with Toews. Their shots for percentaꦓge was 43.5 last year; Raddysh was better in that regard without Kurashev (49.3), which makes that a bit of a concern.
Another wing who spent a great deal of time with Raddysh was Tyler Johnson. They were together for 423:13 at 5-on-5 and their shots for percentage (48.19) was better than the team’s average for the season. And that was, like Toews, limited because of injuries; Johnson and Raddysh appeared together in only 52 games.
Johnson and Raddysh combined on nine scoring plays (where one assisted on the other’s goal) last year. He combined with Kurashev on seven scoring plays last year. Both Johnson and Kurashev spent some time at center last year and can play either wing.
For his part, Donato skated at 🐻all three forward positions last year and is versatile enough that he can move around the lineup. I suggest him as a right wing with Athanasiou-Reichel, which might work as all three could capably take a faceoff (something Richardson loves).
Foligno plays the left side. Perry, meanwhile, plays the right side and could find himself on a line with Foligno. I envision them on the Blackhawks’ third or fourth line with either Dickinson or whomever from grabs the fourth line center role (I’m rooting for Cole Guttman) with Kurashev and Johnson lik🌸ely ওin the mix for spots in the bottom-six as well.
The good news at the end of the conversation: Luke Richardson has a lot of options to work with up front. And Taylor Raddysh established himself as a 20-goal scorer in the NHL last year on a team with fewer pieces than the Blackhawks will have at their disposal to start the coming season. I’m excited to see how it shakes out in training camp.
