Without games being played by the Chicago Blackhawks, I’m starting to get itchy for hockey. Then I remember that the Stanley Cup Playoff are about to begin and the itchiness goes away. It’s been a while since I’ve paid most of my attention in the NHL away from the Blackhawks, but with the new playoff system this year, I’m very intrigued to see how these Stanley Cup Playoffs shake down. What’s craziest to me is that there is a very possible chance that we could see a Boston-Toronto or Montreal-Boston Stanley Cup Final this year. Talk about throwback.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Forward Henrik Borgstrom’s connections to the Blackhawks, despite being Panthers property his whole career until last month, are strangely plentiful. He attended the same high school as Hawks goalie Kevin Lankinen in Finland. He played at the University of Denver alongside Hawks defenseman Ian Mitchell. And Denver won the 2017 Frozen Four at the United Center. Now with the Hawks, Borgstrom is motivated to make the 2021-22 season the year his NHL career gets back on track. ‘‘Of course, that gives me energy,’’ he said Thursday. ‘‘Just having the thought that the team wanted me is really, really nice. [I’ll] try to work toward the beginning of the season. It’s going to be fun.’’
The Chicago Blackhawks went into the 2021 season without a legitimate starting goaltender at the NHL level. They came out of the 2021 season … basically in the same position.
Kevin Lankinen emerged as a solid NHL-caliber goaltender in his rookie season, but he wasn’t able to keep his hot start to the season going all year long. Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia performed at the level you would have expected out of them, but neither fully took the reins as a long-term solution (as a starter or backup) for the organization. With all three goalies signed through the end of next season, it appears that the trio will again be called upon for one of them to fully take hold of the starter role next season.