Less than 10 days ago, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goaltender Spencer Knight and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Since then, things have felt different. They just have. In some sense, it is “out with the old and in with the new.” Now, Jones at 30 years young is hardly old, and definitely has some good hockey ahead of him, and best of luck in Florida, but for the rebuilding Hawks, it was time for him to go, and perhaps it was just the lift they needed. He did not want to be in Chicago, was certainly not shy about that and his departure felt in many ways like the final wave goodbye to the old regime. Jones’ overpriced contract was the final, desperate attempt by Stan Bowman to keep the team in contention when Jones was traded for and extended in the summer of 2021.
Now with Jones out, and 10 players under the age of 23 in the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night — inclusive of 2024 second overall draft pick Artyom Levshunov making his NHL debut — it finally feels like the plan is happening. It is now Kyle Davidson’s team and the Hawks’ recent play is showcasing a blueprint of good things to come.
The Hawks lost to the Avs 3–0, but ahead of Monday’s tilt against Colorado, Chicago was 3–0–2 in the five games since the Jones trade, Knight has been sensational and the Hawks are playing their best hockey of the season. It is no longer the Connor Bedard show; the second-year 19-year-old is of course the league’s focus with his hills and valleys of late, but mind you, that is all part of the growth of becoming a seasoned player. It is the excitement of Knight, Levshunov, Colton Dach, Ethan Del Mastro, Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Alex Vlasic and the many prospects to come — some as early as this spring when the NCAA season ends.
Enter Levshunov, and what a test for the 19-year-old in his first taste of NHL hockey. Levshunov started solid; his gap control for someone his age at this level is phenomenal. His skating was smooth, he was intentional about regaining the blue line and his angling was sound. There was nothing about his game that looked out of place, and if you were a first-time hockey watcher tuning in last night, you would have thought you were watching a five-year NHL player. Sure, there is so much growth to be had for the youngster from Belarus, but if you have been following Chicago and you are questioning why they chose him second overall last June as opposed to a flashy, offensive-minded, easy-on-the-eye but perhaps higher-risk investment, last night should have quelled those doubts. This kid has it. It was that obvious by the end of the first period, and there is a real possibility that he could be a major force in the NHL for years to come. Too optimistic? Maybe, but when you think of the fact that two years ago this kid was in the USHL, last year was the Defenseman of the Year in the Big Ten while at Michigan State and then a 22-point rearguard with the Rockford IceHogs in 50 games this season, to his first NHL game — all shy of being on this earth for 19 and a half years — don’t tell me I am too excited right now. Levshunov is the bow wrapped on a bundle of promise for the future of the Blackhawks’ blue line.
After Alec Martinez went down and did not return for the second period, Levshunov finished the game with 20:55 of ice time as the Hawks shifted and fought valiantly with a five-man rotation in the back. He also had three shots and two shot blocks and honestly may have been the Hawks’ best defenseman in the game.
The Hawks squandered a two-man advantage in the second period and despite hanging on to a 0–0 draw heading into the third period, the dam soon broke and Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas scored early in the third to make it 2–0 Colorado. Nathan MacKinnon registered his 1,000th career point with an assist on the Lehkonen goal. The Hawks pressed and Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood was terrific with 21 saves on the night. The game would end 3–0 with the Avs scoring an empty-net goal.
For the first time in five games, Chicago lost a regulation game. Yet as aforementioned, this did not feel like the demoralizing losses of previous months. The whole feel is different, and not simply because the Hawks were in the game throughout. It is the feeling of a happening, a vision that is now a plan starting to take form. Rebuilds are long journeys to take, and roads that Chicago faithful truly did not have to bear through for long after Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews arrived in the fall of 2008. This will indeed take longer and it will be a while before the Hawks are back in Cup contention, but thus far in the month of March, for the first time in a long time, we may be finally seeing a team on the rise.