This season marked the first for Nick Foligno as the Chicago Blackhawks’ captain, and it was the most important one of the organization’s current rebuild. Even though they finished in the same spot in the league standings as they did a year ago, the ending of this season was extremely exciting for the future. They hung around in games that they wouldn’t have been at the beginning of the campaign, and the youth movement made its presence known.
Seeing the first-round picks from the last few seasons sign their entry-level contracts and make their NHL debuts gave fans even more of a reason to tune into a team that was long out of the playoff race. The goal for next year for the Blackhawks should be to get out of the league’s basement, and their captain recognizes that.
Nick Foligno talks next steps for the Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks will have made a top-four draft pick in the first round for three straight years, regardless of how the lottery goes next month. While loading up the prospect pool with young and elite talent is never a bad thing, there comes a point where a shift is needed in the rebuild. Foligno knows that this team needs to flip a switch next season and that they have the pieces necessary to do so.
“The next step for our group is to get into a mindset to be a meaningful team,” Foligno said. It’s starts now to be highly motivated to be a part of this process. There’s a collective group now that gets to decide if they want to be a part of where we’re going”
This group likely consists of other veterans alongside Foligno who have multi-year contracts like Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen. The young portion of the group should include Connor Bedard, Alex Vlasic and Frank Nazar among others who have made an impact this season.
The game in Montreal on Monday night against the Canadians was the first playoff-like atmosphere that this young group has played in together. Foligno saw it as a valuable experience and one that the team thrived in.
“That game in Montreal, I saw a collective mindset of handling ourselves with maturity,” Foligno said. “It’s those moments that get you really excited.”
The Blackhawks faught back down 2-0 early in that contest to defeat Montreal 4-3 in a shootout. Not only was this a tough road environment that showed them what playoff hockey will be like down the road, but they overcame a tough start to take down a relatively strong team.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ future is now, and Nick Foligno knows that
Foligno’s contract expires after next season, which marks his 20th in the NHL. He knows that the future is now for the Blackhawks organization and that it is almost time to pass the torch to the next generation.
“This is their team,” Foligno insisted. “As much as I’m the Captain, this is their team and I’m going to hand that off to them at some point.”
It will be interesting to see how many young faces can break camp and make the opening night roster this fall. There were plenty of debuts made this season, but with certain veterans returning to full health and a couple of free agent signings bound to happen, not every young player can be with the big club to begin the season. It will be tough to make this team next season, which is the first time someone can say that about the Blackhawks in quite some time.
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