Hawks have 30 games to make #30to1 a reality 2018-03-06 There was much written during the offseason (and much promoted) about the Chicago Blackhawks and their ‘#30to1’ campaign. A product of general manager Thomas Gidlow’s desire to bring the club back from a dead-last finish in the 2016-17 season, the Blackhawks have 30 games and a real fighting chance to make it happen. “It never was a pipe dream, at least to me,” states Gidlow, who took over as GM in July last year for the fired Chris Floresco. “History suggests it would be very difficult, but usually the good things in life are just that – difficult.” Never one to be satisfied with the status quo, Gidlow has continued making tweaks and changes to the organization even after the first puck drop on the 2017-18 campaign. Not only does the team now employ a full analytics staff with all the bells and whistles – something that Floresco reportedly called “a waste of time” and refused to implement – but Gidlow has made a dozen or so deals during the season to continue to put his stamp on the franchise. The moves have been highly calculated, though it’s easy to look at the surface and think it’s Mike Milbury-esque “wheelin’ and dealin’”. It all started with moving Rasmus Ristolainen, the 22-year old former future of the franchise, in a five-player, three-draft pick deal which saw Jonathan Marchessault and Justin Faulk (albeit temporarily; more on this below) come to Chicago. Marchessault, who has struggled at times this season, is a pure goal scorer with three more seasons on his contract who figures to be a prominent fixture in the Hawks top six. James Neal, another part of this deal, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Back to Faulk, who was excellent in Chicago with 10 goals (five on the power play), 19 points, and was +11 in 33 games in the Windy City. One of the trends in the Chicago backend after bringing in the 25-year old rearguard was a propensity to give up untimely goals when five on five. For a good portion of the season, the Blackhawks led or were near the top of the Elite Hockey Experience in terms of goals allowed. After the half-way point of the season, Chicago had dropped to eighth in the EHE. “Faulk is a really good defenseman, there’s no doubt,” said Gidlow. “But he wasn’t precisely what we were after in terms of the ultimate makeup of our backend. Getting a top winger we could control for a good while was key in that exchange, and adding a prospect and a high draft pick was also a prerequisite to moving a good young player like Ristolainen.” Jordan Staal was brought in, and Boone Jenner, who seemed to be the cornerstone of the franchise after last season’s performance, was sent packing. Reilly Smith and Adam Lowry, other players Gidlow brought in last offseason but failed to make their mark, were shipped out in separate deals for Charlie Coyle, Eric Comrie, more draft picks, and veterans like Cal Clutterbuck and Kevin Klein. And then the piece “de resistance” in late February – Gidlow signed formerly retired Mike Fisher to a half-a-season contract worth $9 million. For this season. Not prorated. Naturally, some fans wondered if Gidlow could make it work. The Hawks were among the leaders in team salary but still sat roughly $3-$4 million under the cap before plucking Fisher, who is out for one more shot at a Stanley Cup, from several other interested parties. But Gidlow did fit him in, and still managed to swap surprising winger Jussi Jokinen, young defenseman Connor Carrick, and journeyman farm goaltender Scott Wedgewood into Leo Komarov (signed through 2020), exciting prospect Victor Olofsson, and two draft picks (second and fifth rounds) in this year’s Entry Draft. “The whole idea here is to build a winner,” said Gidlow, who’s Blackhawks 35-14-3 with 30 games left in the regular season. “We’ve maintained a winning group now, and we are setting ourselves up to have a winning team each season moving forward.” “I don’t think the job is ever 100% done. But we’ve started something here and through it all, this team has continued to work hard and perform well all season.” It’s truly a far cry from where it started, when #30to1 was just a slogan. It may not have been a pipe dream to Gidlow, but many pundits had their just doubts. There were pieces in place, but after a 31-47-4 season, the new GM wasn’t going to wait for a future that he felt could be seized upon immediately. And there is a future. Likely to be a bright one at that. Names like Chris Kreider, one of only three holdouts from the previous regime (along with minor leaguers Andrew Agozzino and Troy Grosenick), is only 26 and is due to be a restricted free agent at season’s end. Charlie Coyle, Marcus Foligno, and Derek Forbort are all 25 years old. Players like captain Jonathan Toews (franchise tagged), Jordan Staal, Jonathan Marchessault, Komarov, Luke Glendening, Jake Muzzin, and Brayden McNabb are signed long term. And Cam Atkinson figures to be a candidate for the expiring franchise tag used on Ristolainen in 2019. There’s more coming. They are Rockford IceHogs this season, but AHL’ers Brock McGinn, Colton Sissons, C.J. Smith, Sam Anas, Mike Vecchione, Casey Nelson, Markus Nutivaara, Luc Snuggerud, Jake Bischoff, Nick Seeler, and Eric Comrie all factor into the plans in the near term. Prospects like Joachim Blichfeld, Tyler Moy, Brandon Crawley, and Olofsson are not far behind. There’s also free agency, as a slew of players will be coming available this offseason. Chicago projects to have close to $30 million to play with to fill five roster spots, assuming projections hold. But make no mistake. This team is very much focused on the present too. Colorado and Dallas continue to nip at Chicago’s heels in the Central Division. There’s 30 games left to solidify a playoff position. “There’s the #30to1 again,” quipped Gidlow. “30 games to go and that number one spot is still available.” “That really is a mantra we’ve tried to instill in everyone in this organization. If we work hard and keep going, every single day, we know we can earn success.” #30to1 indeed.