Of the Blackhawks' mere 23 regulation losses in 2016-17, one man — young Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck — was singlehandedly responsible for four of them.
Hellebuyck stonewalled the Hawks in four consecutive meetings between November and January that season — his first as a full-time stater — before finally letting them have one in February.
He has remained a thorn in the Hawks' side ever since, too, while establishing his reputation as arguably the NHL's best goalie. In 32 career matchups against the Hawks, he's 23-8-1 with a .921 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average.
So the fact that Hellebuyck has now finally left the Central Division represents a small victory for the Hawks.
The Jets dealt the 33-year-old star to the Devils on Friday, ending a monthslong stalemate following his offseason trade request.
They received a respectable package in return — headlined by prospect Alexander Command and NHL center Dawson Mercer — but it's always difficult to win a trade in which you're relinquishing the best player involved. That's doubly true when you have minimal leverage.
It'll be interesting to see if this knocks over any other dominos standing around the league. Dylan Larkin, Hellebuyck's U.S. Olympic teammate, remains stuck in a similar post-trade-request stalemate with the Red Wings. Quinn Hughes, another U.S. Olympian, hasn't yet signed an extension with the Wild as his blockbuster 2027 free-agency approaches.
Plus, restricted free-agent defensemen Simon Edvinsson (Wings) and Alexander Nikishin (Hurricanes) are still holding out for richer contracts, and both seem more likely to be traded than to return to their former teams.
The Hawks probably won't get involved in any of that drama, though. Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson stuck his head out to make one major trade acquisition (Bowen Byram) this summer, but he's otherwise dedicated to letting the team's young core grow together on their own timeline.
Besides, the Hawks need to get Byram going — along with the rest of their roster — before they can think about doing any more buying.
Byram's first month in Chicago certainly hasn't gone as planned. He (understandably) missed one game for his daughters’ birth and has now missed three consecutive with an upper-body injury, which coach Jeff Blashill said isn't a concussion.
And in Byram's six appearances, his play has been inconsistent at best. The Hawks have been outscored 7-3 and outshot 60-43 during his five-on-five ice time. His pairing with Alex Vlasic didn't click at all, prompting a move back to his natural left side (paired with Artyom Levshunov) before his injury.
Six games don't paint a full picture, however, especially considering Byram has been adjusting to new systems, new teammates and a surely hectic home life in a new city.
There's still plenty of time for him to change the narrative and become the difference-making defenseman —perhaps even the No. 1 defenseman — the Hawks boldly proclaimed he would be.
If Byram becomes that and the rest of the Hawks start figuring things out, there's a clear path for them to climb the division hierarchy. The Jets (4-3-3), Blues (5-4-1) and Predators (3-3-3) all appear as mediocre as anticipated. With the Pacific unsurprisingly looking like hockey's weakest division, the Central's fifth-place team should be in the wild-card conversation.
But just like with the league-wide trade chatter, the Hawks would be best served ignoring everything around them and focusing on themselves.
For as clear as the path to climb the standings appears, the path already trodden for the Hawks is the one that goes in circles around the league basement — and that's the path every prognosticator, analytic model and betting line expects them to continue following.
It will take lots of work and a little defiance to establish themselves on a different, upward trajectory, regardless of the goalies they're facing.
