Luke Richardson has just announced major lineup changes involving Connor Bedard and more
The Chicago Blackhawks have an offense problem, Connor Bedard's productivity hasn't been optimized with the right linemates.
Also, the Blackhawks loaded up on talent during the offseason in an attempt to take a step forward for the 2024-2025 season.
They haven't performed up to expectations, andLuke Richardson has gotten ire from fans for his juggling of the lines.
To give you an idea of the desperation from the bench, here's who Bedard has spent the most time with this season.
Richardson has changed the lineup ahead of the game with the Seattle Kraken tomorrow night at 10 PM.
The positive? Kurashev and Bedard have legitimate chemistry from last season. As evidenced below with MoneyPuck, Bedard's best pairing last season had an XG of 50.9%.
Joining them will be Teuvo Teravainen:
Natural Stat trick will illustrate whose been a better partner for Bedard(hint it's not Lukas Reichel):
Foligno - 101:03 TOI, 47.42 CF%, 54.37 SF%, 4 goals for
Kurashev - 64:55 TOI, 45.08 CF%, 51.61 SF%, 1 goal for
Reichel - 43:52 TOI, 26.25 CF%, 31.58 SF%, 0 goals for
Donato - 38:45 TOI, 41.67 CF%, 39.13 SF%, 1 goal for
Hall - 32:37 TOI, 50.0 CF%, 51.61 SF%, 2 goals for
Mikheyev -21:12 TOI, 35.71 CF%, 36.84 SF%, 1 goal for
Bertuzzi - 17:33 TOI, 63.41 CF%, 68.75 SF%, 2 goals for
This could indicate that Luke Richardson is getting a clue about who works best with who. Teravainen was a key piece of the top line during the start of the season and helped the Blackhawks and Bedard clinch the win against the San Jose Sharks earlier in October.
Could this be the end-of line juggling for the Blackhawks? We get that Richardson needs an optimal lineup, but negative past chemistry is not a sound strategy, especially when the Hawks employ analytics nerds.
