PHILADELPHIA — The first half of Colin Blackwell’s first Blackhawks season did not go as planned. Throughout the fall, he did little to remind anyone he was even on the team.
In January, though, the 29-year-old forward has looked more like an NHL player. Thursday against the Flyers marked his 10th consecutive game in the lineup, and the puck has been landing on his stick — or getting dislodged from opponents’ sticks due to his defensive actions — more often.
He also finally scored his first Hawks goal (in his 33rd game) on Jan. 8 against the Flames, although doing so just made him angrier.
“I was a little embarrassed,” Blackwell said. “It took me 30-something games. That’s unacceptable in my mind. It relieves a little bit of stress because finally it happened, but from that standpoint, I have a heck of a lot more to give.”
Of the Hawks’ various stopgap free-agent signings last summer, Blackwell was the lone player to receive a two-year contract, which rewarded him for his fantastic defensive analytics and respectable production (42 points in 105 games) around the NHL the past two seasons.
It has taken him half a year to rediscover any semblance of that rhythm, however, and he entered Thursday still having tallied only five points in 36 games. He attributes that to following “too much of a pass-first mentality” earlier on.
“For a long portion of the year, the way we were playing, it was a lot to the outside, not to the inside,” he said. “You don’t really generate much out there, at least the way I play. ... Now, I’ve been...trying to take more pucks to the net, trying to be more dirty around the crease.”
Outside the offensive zone, he’s also focusing more on “little things” that make positive impacts, such as placing dump-ins in areas where they’re harder for opposing defensemen to cleanly retrieve.
“The season...hasn’t necessarily gone the way I would’ve liked, but I’m not going away from the things that make me successful,” he added. “I’m just sticking with it.”
Murphy used to insecurity
It became clear to Hawks defenseman Connor Murphy last summer, as he watched teammates previously considered integral players traded away left and right, that he could no longer take for granted his own long-term future in Chicago.
Even with three years left on his contract beyond this season and a modified no-trade clause (which blocks trades to 10 predetermined teams) in place, he had to accept the reality. And accept it he has.
“With everyone getting traded, no one felt safe,” Murphy said. “That’s just the way it is. We’re used to it by now, knowing that anything is possible and it’s really out of your control. You try to just stick with your game.”
If Murphy outlasts Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the Hawks’ roster, which currently looks more likely than not to happen, he’ll become the team’s longest-tenured player. Chicago has long since become home for him. He figures it would feel like a “shock” to suddenly move to another city and organization.
But as the March 3 trade deadline grows closer — with a possibly trade-laden draft a few months later, and another year of this cycle beyond that — he wouldn’t be shocked to eventually feel that shock.
“You just enjoy each day with the team and try to grow with your teammates,” he said. “Because you hope it’ll last for a while, but you never know how long.”
