We’re now only a month from the start of the NHL regular season, and excitement about the Blackhawks is already ramping up. The team spent a bunch of money this summer to turn its roster upside down. After being forced to put players into certain roles just to field a roster at times last season, Chicago now has the luxury of putting together a real, competitive lineup when they open the regular season at Utah. But how will the new-look Blackhawks fit together?
After discussing the top three lines over the last few days, it’s time to piece together the stragglers of the Blackhawks’ roster into a fourth line. While most bottom lines, like Chicago’s last year, are simply a makeshift group of whoever doesn’t fit in the top three lines, the Blackhawks’ group could be an ideal well-rounded unit.
Pat Maroon
Maroon is in the twilight of his career at 36 years old, but that experience has already proven beneficial because of his play style. As a physical winger, he excels at net front positioning and is tough to move when he gets there. He has the size and tenure to be able to stand up for his teammates and drop the gloves, but also has just enough skill with the puck to resemble a scoring threat, even if most of his work is done in traffic.
Maroon is just what this bottom line needs to be successful. Neither of the other two players are particularly known for their physicality, so Maroon is vital in this bottom-six role to make things difficult on opposing offenses. If he can help out in that department and add a few goals, he’ll more than earn his $1.3 million contract.
Ryan Donato
The only returning Blackhawk on this bottom line, Donato will aim for more stability this season. He spent all of last campaign moving around the lineup, playing alongside skaters ranging from Connor Bedard all the way to Mackenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson. To his credit, Donato did put up 30 points that season, including a multi-point game in their final outing back in April. He’s not the most dangerous scorer on the ice, but can certainly get the job done and seems to find himself in the right place at the right time to make a few plays happen.
Donato probably won’t be the best scorer on this line, but I could see him filling a Philipp Kurashev-esque role this season, only on a much, much smaller scale. The Blackhawks’ top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Bedard and Kurashev has so much potential because of Bertuzzi’s physicality and Bedard’s scoring, while Kurashev reaps the benefits of both to put up pretty good numbers with his game freed up. Obviously Maroon is no Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev is no Bedard, but Donato could certainly enjoy a pretty good season sandwiched between them.
Ilya Mikheyev
Mikheyev’s production probably won’t match his cap hit of over $4 million in each of the next two years, but for a pure cap dump, he’s a great addition for Chicago, who also picked up a second-round pick to take him. Mikheyev has shown he’s good for around 30 points per season, having scored that many in his last three campaigns. The 29-year-old isn’t the most physical skater, but he plays fast and is a good defender. He projects as the primary scorer for this line, though the title is certainly up for grabs if Donato outperforms expectations.
There’s no question Mikheyev playing on this line could allow him to put up the biggest numbers of his career. Between Maroon’s physicality and Donato’s solid positioning on both ends of the ice, Mikheyev could find himself with the puck on his stick a lot, with the potential for quite a few scoring opportunities. He’s never been in much more than a complementary role before, but with his skill set, somewhere around 20 goals is a realistic possibility.
