2019 Chicago Blackhawks Odds to win Stanley Cup with Expert Predictions

The Chicago Blackhawks have played only four seasons since their last Stanley Cup win, but it feels like a lifetime ago. The last two years have been ugly, and there aren't a lot of people who have massive expectations for a turnaround last year. It's a rebuilding process, and it hasn't been fast. As part of that rebuild, the team made one of the more striking coaching changes we've seen last year. They said goodbye to longtime leader Joel Quenneville after just 15 games. Coach Q is the second winningest head coach in history, and he will be looking to add to that total in his new job in Florida. To replace him, the team hired Jeremy Colliton, who had been coaching Chicago's AHL team. Cotillon is the youngest head coach in the league and trailed Quenneville's 890 career regular-season wins by just 890 when he was hired. You can't make much more of a change than that. And it wasn't entirely smooth. But after a summer of implementation and a full training camp, can Colliton and company take a step forward?

Chicago Blackhawks Offseason Moves

The Blackhawks weren't in position to make a big splash this offseason, but they certainly didn't just stand pat. There was a whole lot of shuffling done. Trades aplenty. They traded forward Dominik Kahun, who had a solid rookie season last year, to the Penguins for young defenseman Olli Maatta. He's only 25 but already has 362 regular-season games to his credit. He's a solid addition to this backend. They added another solid defender in Calvin de Haan, who they got from Carolina in a deal that included former backup goalie Anton Forsberg and depth defenseman Gustav Forsling. De Haan is a solid, defensive minded d-man who was just a victim of incredible defensive depth in Carolina. Both guys join a defensive unit that is deep but bogged down by aging vets Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, who are not the players they used to be - but are still paid handsomely. They also both kill penalties effectively, which was a major problem for this team last year.

Defensive depth in the pipeline led the team to making a surprising trade. Henri Jokiharju was a highly respected defensive prospect who was a first-round pick in 2017, but he was shipped out to Buffalo in exchange for winger Alexander Nylander, a 2016 first-rounder who has not yet found his NHL game. From where I sit, the Sabres won this deal in a big way, but time will tell for sure. They also brought back Andrew Shaw, who had been in Montreal the last three years after starting his career in Chicago. And they brought in Zack Smith, who spent the last 11 years in Ottawa, in exchange for Artem Anisimov in what was largely a salary dump.

Finally, in a bit of a surprise, they brought in goaltender Robin Lehner, a finalist for the Vezina award last year with the Islanders , on a one-year deal for $5 million. He was resurgent in New York last year, and that team offered him more term, so it was surprising to see him move on. With just a one-year deal, he will be eager to prove himself and earn a big deal next year.

The team raised a lot of eyebrows in the draft. With the third pick, they were in line to pick Bo Byram, widely viewed as the top defender in the draft. But they passed on him and let him drop to Colorado. Instead, they chose center Kirby Dach. Dach was rated right behind Byram in prospect ratings, so it wasn't a massive reach. But defenders are so highly valued that Dach will be compared to Byram for years to come. Dach has been suffering from a concussion since the start of training camp and has not practiced with the team yet, which makes his status with the team unclear.

Chicago Blackhawks NHL Outlook

They have added some offensive depth. They have shuffled around the defense - and probably improved it. And there is a decent chance that the goaltending is improved as well. This is a team that should be better than last year. But probably not improved enough to compete in a very deep division and a deep conference.

Chicago Blackhawks Schedule

It's an odd start to the season. They open with a game in Prague against Philadelphia . Then, after a five-day break, they launch into a seven-game homestand - the longest of the season. It will be revealing about this team to see if they can take advantage of this opportunity to get off to a good start.

Chicago Blackhawks NHL Futures Odds

The Blackhawks are at +3300 to win the Stanley Cup , which puts them ahead of just eight teams. They are tied with Arizona and Minnesota as the ninth choice to win the Western Conference at +1600 and they are the second to last choice to win the Central Division at +800. The season point total sits at 90.5, with the "over" favored at -115. They are at +130 to make the playoffs and -150 to miss them.

2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks Predictions

They easily could, and probably should, improve from their 84 points last year. But they are still working on overhauling this roster, and they still don't have enough talent to clash with the top end squads. They are not going to be a playoff team this year.

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