The 2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 96th season for the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The Blackhawks were led by
Jeremy Colliton
Jeremy Colliton (born January 13, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently serving as head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL). Colliton is a former head coach of the Chi ...
until he was fired on November 6, 2021, after the team started with a 1–9–2 record; he has been replaced by interim coach
Derek King
Derek King (born February 11, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. King played 14 seasons in the ...
.
After the prior season was shortened and realigned due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the NHL announced that divisions and conferences would be used for the season. Realignment of divisions occurred as the
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
began their first season in the Pacific Division while the
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
moved to the Central Division.
The Blackhawks were eliminated from playoff contention of April 5, 2022, after wins by the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...
and
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...
.
Off-season
Trades and acquisitions
The Blackhawks traded two-time
Norris Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Jam ...
-winner
Duncan Keith
Duncan Keith (born July 16, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers. He won three Stanley Cup championships with Chicago in ...
to
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
on July 12, 2021, after 16 years with the Hawks. The Hawks received Caleb Jones, brother of
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
defenseman
Seth Jones Seth Jones may refer to:
* Seth Jones (political scientist) (born 1972), American political scientist
* Seth Jones (ice hockey) (born 1994), American ice hockey defenseman
*'' Seth Jones'', a dime novel by Edward S. Ellis
Edward Sylvester Ellis ...
in the trade. On July 23, the Hawks acquired Seth Jones from Columbus and signed him to an eight-year extension. Four days later, goaltender
Marc-André Fleury
Marc-André Fleury (born November 28, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) List of first overall NHL draf ...
was traded by
Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
to the Blackhawks.
Return of Toews
Blackhawk captain
Jonathan Toews
Jonathan Bryan Toews ( ; born April 29, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Captain Serious", Toews was selected by the Blackhawks with the t ...
returned to the team for the season after missing the entire 2020–21 season due to an undisclosed injury which was later revealed to be chronic immune response syndrome.
Season summary
Sexual assault allegations
In June 2021,
Kyle Beach
Kyle Beach (born January 13, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Considered a top National Hockey League (NHL) prospect, he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Beach never played ...
(who did not disclose his name until after the Blackhawks released their report), a former Blackhawks prospect, filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks organization for failing to file a proper police report or properly handle his report that he was sexually assaulted by video coach Brad Aldrich during the
2010 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season. The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games to ...
. On October 26, the Blackhawks released the findings of the investigation conducted by
Jenner & Block
Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and other legal fields. ...
and announced general manager/president of hockey operations
Stan Bowman
Stanley Glenn Bowman (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian-American former ice hockey executive. He previously worked as the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame member, ...
and senior vice president of hockey operations
Al MacIsaac
Al MacIsaac (born October 10, 1967) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey executive and player. He is the former Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. He was employed by the Ch ...
resigned. The Blackhawks promoted Kyle Davidson to serve as their interim general manager, and then formally named him general manager on March 1, 2022. The team also received a $2-million fine from the NHL for failing to adequately and timely address Beach's allegations.
Poor start and firing of Jeremy Colliton
Opening their season with six straight losses, the Blackhawks broke a 51-year-old NHL record previously held by the
1970–71 California Golden Seals
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...
for the most minutes played at the start of a season without holding a lead. At nine consecutive losses, the Blackhawks set a new record for worst season start in franchise history in a 1–0 loss to the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
on October 30, 2021.
Colliton was fired following the team's 11th loss of the season and with a record 1–9–2. King won his first game as head coach on November 7.
Standings
Divisional standings
Conference standings
Schedule and results
Preseason
The preseason schedule was published on July 19, 2021.
Regular season
The regular season schedule was published on July 23, 2021.
Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Blackhawks. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Blackhawks only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Transactions
The Blackhawks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.
Trades
Notes:
# Chicago will receive a second-round pick in 2022 if Edmonton reaches the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals and Keith is among the top-four defensemen on the Oilers in time-on-ice during the first three rounds of the playoffs; otherwise Chicago will receive a third-round pick in 2022.
# Columbus will receive Chicago's 1st-round pick in 2022 if the pick is outside the top two selections; otherwise Columbus will receive Chicago's 1st-round pick in 2023.
# Chicago will receive Minnesota's 1st-round pick in 2022 if they reach the 2022 Western Conference Final and Fleury has at least four wins in the first two rounds; otherwise they will receive a 2nd-round pick.
Players acquired
Players lost
Signings
Draft picks
Below are the Chicago Blackhawks' selections at the
2021 NHL Entry Draft
The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...
, which were held on July 23 to 24, 2021. It was held virtually via
Video conference call
Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio and video signals by people in different locations for real time communication.McGraw-Hill Concise Ency ...