Équipe: 2019-20 Blackhawks de Chicago

Date de création initiale: 10 juin 2020

Publié: 11 juin 2020

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

I was thinking about what CHI should roll with going in to the play-in series. Going off of most updated reports, Caggiula, Boqvist, and De Haan (likely) will be back from injury. Seabrook, Shaw, and Smith are all considered closed for the season. As of right now, Mitchell isn't technically signed and thus unable to play.

The defense can only be so good with what personnel CHI has, but my thinking on these pairs:

KEITH - BOQIVST: Have played with each other all season, generated an xGF% and CF% just shy of 50%. Not ideal as your top pair, but it's a pair that can skate well and will attempt to control possession. Boqvist has one of the highest quality shots among defenseman in the league, so he needs to allowed to use that as much as possible. As such, this pair would start in the offensive-zone almost exclusively and split PP time.

DE HAAN - MURPHY: Stereotypical "shutdown" pair, with excellent exit-and-entry percentages while under pressure from forechecks. Both are adequate skaters and aren't afraid to lob shots on net. This pair would get the majority of defensive-zone starts and feature on the PK.

MAATTA - KOEKKOEK: CHI's most reliable pair should be able to chunk out some minutes and ease pressure for the other two pairs. Maatta and Koekkoek have proven to control all three zones effectively, and I wouldn't be afraid to lean on them regularly in 5v5 play.

All pairs would ideally have equal minutes, as they all complement each other and can support one other across the length of a game.