Summer Coolers – Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks continue to build around Connor Bedard and a promising collection of young talent, but Neil Smith and Vic Morren see little reason to expect a playoff breakthrough this season. Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov, Nick Lardis, and Sam Rinzel provide hope for the future, but major questions remain about Chicago’s ability to correctly project and develop its prospects. The spotlight is especially bright on Frank Nazar as his seven-year, $6.6 million-per-season contract begins. After six consecutive seasons without playoff hockey, how much longer will Blackhawks fans have to wait?

IN THIS EPISODE:

[00:00:00] Neil wastes no time giving his assessment of Chicago’s immediate future. While Summer Coolers isn’t about predictions, he simply does not see the Blackhawks as a playoff team this season.

[00:00:20] There is optimism within Chicago’s prospect pipeline, beginning with Anton Frondell, the third overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. He recorded nine points in 12 games with the Blackhawks last season.

[00:00:35] Roman Kantserov represents another young forward to watch as Chicago continues attempting to build a sustainable core around Bedard.

[00:00:45] Nick Lardis also gains NHL experience, while defenseman Sam Rinzel appears in 54 games and becomes another important part of the organization’s youth movement.

[00:01:00] The biggest question may surround Frank Nazar. He finishes last season with 15 goals and 41 points in 66 games while posting a minus-21 rating.

[00:01:20] Nazar’s new seven-year contract at $6.6 million per season now begins, placing considerably more pressure on the young forward to become an impact player.

[00:01:40] Neil believes Nazar’s production must increase dramatically—and remain there consistently—for the contract to ultimately become worthwhile for Chicago.

[00:02:00] The Nazar situation leads into a larger discussion about one of the biggest challenges facing modern NHL general managers: projecting what young players will become before they have fully proven themselves.

[00:02:20] Teams increasingly must commit significant money to young players based on future potential rather than established NHL production, making talent evaluation and projection more important than ever.

[00:02:40] Neil questions whether General Manager Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks have demonstrated that they can consistently make those projections correctly.

[00:03:00] Connor Bedard was an obvious elite prospect as the first overall selection, but evaluating the players around him presents a much more difficult challenge for Chicago’s front office.

[00:03:20] Neil points to Nazar and Bowen Byram as examples of players whose long-term value will help determine whether Chicago’s front office correctly evaluated its future roster.

[00:03:40] The Blackhawks also move on from several veterans during the offseason. Andrei Burakovsky is traded to Ottawa for a 2027 sixth-round draft pick.

[00:04:00] Sam Lafferty leaves Chicago to sign with the Florida Panthers, while Ilya Mikheyev departs in free agency for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

[00:04:20] Those departures leave Chicago continuing to lean heavily on its developing young players rather than adding established veterans capable of accelerating the rebuild.

[00:04:40] The Blackhawks have now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for six consecutive seasons, and even an optimistic assessment suggests the franchise remains years away from legitimate contention.

[00:05:00] Vic believes Chicago may still be at least two years away—and potentially three or four—from returning to the postseason based on the organization’s current trajectory.

[00:05:20] The comparison with San Jose becomes particularly concerning. After both franchises spent several seasons near the bottom of the standings, Neil believes the Sharks have now passed Chicago in their progression toward becoming a playoff team.

[00:05:40] Chicago has accumulated young talent, but Neil does not believe the Blackhawks have made enough tangible progress in the standings to suggest the rebuild is nearing completion.

[00:06:00] The episode concludes with Neil hoping his assessment is wrong—for both his childhood favorite Blackhawks and head coach Jeff Blashill—but he simply does not see enough improvement yet to believe Chicago is ready for playoff hockey.