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Blackhawks Potential 30-Goal Scorers In 2024-25: Connor Bedard And…

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4 months ago

August 1, 2024

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Blackhawks Potential 30-Goal Scorers In 2024-25: Connor Bedard And…

The Chicago Blackhawks have a good chance to really surprise next season as the team won’t rely heavily on young and unproven players again. There will be tough competition for spots, and to start the season, the expectation is that the veterans or players with experience will fill the roster to get things going.

The Blackhawks will have some young players like Connor Bedard, Philipp Kurashev, Lukas Reichel, Alex Vlasic, and Kevin Korchinski. Beyond that, Chicago’s lineup will include proven additions who have had strong seasons throughout their careers, including as recently as last season.

With the injection of so much talent to go along with internal development and growth of the young players already on the team, there is a good chance we see multiple 30-goal scorers on the Blackhawks in 2024-25.

Only two players, Bedard and Jason Dickinson, reached 20 goals last season. Both centers finished with 22.

Players With Best Shot at 30 Goals

Bedard is going to be a 30-goal scorer, it’s just a matter of time. He scored 22 as an 18-year-old rookie and the top center on the team with the toughest matchups in just 68 games. With his ability, incredible shot already, better linemates and teammates for the power play, and how quickly he’ll develop into a top player in the league, there’s a very good chance he surpasses 30 goals next season.

Moving over to his wing, Kurashev has already been mentioned as a young player with potential and he delivered a breakout performance last season when he was needed. There’s a good chance he’ll once again be glued to Bedard’s wing and on the power play, so there will be ample opportunities to score. Kurashev scored 18 goals and recorded 54 points, so the offensive skill is there. He has never been an elite goal-scorer, but 30 is reachable if Bedard and their other linemate can get things rolling nicely throughout 2024-25.

Taylor Hall could play the majority of next season on the top line with Bedard and Kurashev. That was his spot in the lineup before being knocked out by a knee injury last season. This should really add value to the line and add offense as Hall is a former Hart Trophy winner and 90-point scorer. The speedy veteran has a career-high of 39 goals and has reached 26 goals four times in his career. It is entirely possible he scores 30 once more with the opportunity in front of him, especially if he stays healthy.

Tyler Bertuzzi, one of the Blackhawks’ top free agent signings, has scored 30 goals in a season more recently. He did so in 2021-22 with the Detroit Red Wings and was also almost a point-per-game. If or when Hall isn’t on the top line next season, Bertuzzi will most likely be in that spot replacing him. He should also have a spot on the top power-play unit. Bertuzzi has scored 20 or more goals in four of five seasons in which he played over 50 games.

Teuvo Teravainen was the other notable top-6 forward signed in free agency by Chicago. He made his way back to the team that drafted him and has really grown into a talented player in Carolina. He is coming off a career-high of 25 goals and has scored more than 20 goals in four of the past seven seasons, keeping in mind he has missed time with injury over that span of years. There are not as many cooks in the kitchen as there were in Carolina, so Teravainen’s offense could improve a little bit more.

Former 30-Goal Scorers

The Blackhawks have two other former 30-goal scorers on the team that I don’t believe will hit it again in their careers. Nick Foligno is the first and is now in a much different role than he was when he hit that mark in 2014-15, 10 seasons ago. Foligno hasn’t even hit the 20-goal mark since 2016-17 and could even play on Chicago’s fourth line this coming season.

The other former 30-goal scorer on the Blackhawks is Andreas Athanasiou who struggled last season due to injury, scoring just two goals in 28 games. He put up 20 goals the season prior with Chicago, but there is now much more competition for playing time and he may top out as a third-line forward. Athanasiou’s first and only time hitting 30 goals was in 2018-19.

Wildcards That Will Miss But Have Come Close

There are four players of note that are wildcards and have come close enough in their careers, but ultimately won’t reach 30 goals next season with the Blackhawks. These players include Ilya Mikheyev, Jason Dickinson, Craig Smith, and Pat Maroon.

Mikheyev still has potential because of his speed, but he will need a massive bounce-back year. His career-high is still only 21 goals.

Dickinson had a breakout year offensively with Chicago in 2023-24, scoring 22 goals, and should see most of his playing time come on the second line. He will have much better linemates, so this will make a difference, but he just misses if anything.

Smith and Maroon are nearing the end of their careers and may play no higher than the fourth line in Chicago if the team stays generally healthy. Smith is a five-time 20-goal scorer and has a career-high of 25 goals while Maroon scored 27 goals on Connor McDavid‘s wing years ago.

The 2024-25 Blackhawks have a lot of potential and it is going to make for a very entertaining year as we see how much higher the team can climb in the standings with a very revamped squad that will score a lot more goals.