Earlier this summer, I decided to dig into some of common Blackhawks narratives that have become “internet facts” in the Chicago hockey zeitgeist—most notably, the misconception that the team’s power play had gone from abjectly terrible to elite mostly because of head coach Jeremy Colliton’s insertion of Erik Gustafsson.
What I uncovered was pretty revealing.
When Colliton took over the Blackhawks last season, one of his pet projects was the polarizing subject of just how to use Gustafsson. Gustafsson was signed to a two-year deal and imported from the Swedish Elite League in April of 2015, at 23 years old, after failing to make headway with the Edmonton Oilers organization. His draft rights expired while playing for Swedish powerhouse Frolunda and the Blackhawks swooped in.
In his first year with the franchise, he split time between Chicago and Rockford, amassing 14 assists in 41 NHL games and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the AHL, also winning Rockford’s Defenseman of the Year award. He seemed like he might have a future as a middle or bottom-pair two-way defenseman with an offensive edge.
The following season, head coach Joel Quenneville never showed confidence in the then-24-year-old and he spent the entire season in Rockford. Gustafsson has 40 points (five goals, 25 assists) in the AHL for then-Rockford IceHogs head coach, Ted Dent. After sliding down the organizational depth chart and with his contract expiring, it seemed as though Gustafsson’s time with the Blackhawks might have been over.
To the surprise of most, the Blackhawks announced on July 14, 2017 that they had agreed to a one-year extension to keep him in the organization. Despite his decent numbers in both the AHL and NHL, it seems as though the market for his services was not quite what he (or his agent) had hoped for.
With the defensive depth in the organization on the thin side, Gustafsson split his time between Chicago and Rockford once again and worked his way back into the Blackhawks’ lineup for 35 games. Not only that, but he was named an alternate captain for the IceHogs and their new head coach, Jeremy Colliton, despite only playing 25 games.
Colliton just missed facing Gustafsson in both the SHL and Allsvenskan while Colliton was the head coach of Mora IK and, briefly, while he played for Rögle BK in 2009–10, but it can be assumed that Colliton was well aware of one of the top five defenseman in the SHL during his stint there.
Fast forward to last season, following another two-year contract extension, when Gusfasson made the Blackhawks out of training camp and was given an expanded role with the team. Exit Joel Quenneville and enter Gustafsson’s old buddy, Jeremy Colliton. Colliton immediately jumped on the “Gus Bus,” which was a departure from Quenneville’s strict evaluations of players that seemed to be slacking in their own end.
To put it bluntly, the Blackhawks’ defense was the wild, wild west last season.
Looking for something positive to hang onto, with the defense and the penalty kill in the basement, the power play began to breathe new life in the new year. Much of this was attributed to the newest member of the power play unit, new power play quarterback Erik Gustafsson.
This is not totally without merit. He certainly helped them be a better power play: A league-average power play for the season and an elite power play for roughly six weeks.
For those under the impression that the #Blackhawks PP was “fixed” by Erik Gustafsson, you might want to look at this. I’m pretty certain he was still the PP QB in MAR/APR (when they needed it most). pic.twitter.com/OaSC8kAXCF
— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019
As you can see, the Blackhawks’ power play was red hot for a portion of the season when some teams coast. They rest tired players for the playoffs, and this time is when teams also have their bye weeks. It is a strange part of the NHL season. They seized and opportunity, though, and it put them back into playoff contention for a few fun weeks…until the course corrected and they came screaming back down to Earth.
I dug into these statistics even more deeply, though.
Drilled down into the “fixed” power play of the #Blackhawks last season. They rode hot 7 weeks in 3 months and went back to below league avg (19.78%) for the final month and a half.
But hey #AllHailGus 🤨 pic.twitter.com/RYknhhQmDw
— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019
The Blackhawks’ power play was never “fixed.” The Blackhawks’ power play was “hot.” Not only did this occur in a small portion of the season, but this was, often times, against teams that were simply not good. Florida, Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa finished as the bottom four teams in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers and New Jersey were the bottom two in the Metropolitan Division. The Oilers and Canucks were two of the four bottom teams in the Pacific. Dallas, Colorado and Minnesota joined the Blackhawks at the bottom four teams in the Central Division. Mind you, they also faced Washington, Pittsburgh, Calgary, Nashville and Vegas, but the point still stands. The Blackhawks got hot against teams that were not.
This is not an indictment on Gustafsson, though. He racked up 60 points and got himself noticed by the rest of the league. Unfortunately, with that notoriety came the realization that he was one of the worst defenders in the league in his own zone. He led the entire NHL in high-danger chances against. He is a liability defensively and should be handled as such. Putting him on the ice against some of the best players in the league has cost the Blackhawks countless goals.
So 6 hot weeks (more specifically 14 games, because there were stinkers in there, too) elevated the Blackhawks all the way up to…league average powerplay.
— G8 (@PuckinHostile) July 12, 2019
The mind can play tricks on you and make you remember things that did not actually happen. It is called the Mandela effect. Just google the Shazam movie conspiracy theory or the “Scott Darling won the Cup for the Blackhawks in 2015” fallacy.