Alex Vlasic is expected to be on board the Blackhawks‘ flight to Florida on Sunday, roughly 12 hours after their preseason finale and two days before their regular-season opener against the Panthers.
That’s good news for Vlasic’s availability this week as he recovers from a leg wound. The fact the Hawks made it out of the preseason without any major injuries is a small victory in itself.
The Hawks also benefited from one last year of a six-game NHL preseason schedule, as new coach Jeff Blashill noted, because they had a ton of ground to cover during this particular training camp. Next year, the preseason shortens to four games while the regular season lengthens to 84.
“It’s been a good camp,” Blashill said Saturday. “We’ve started to get in place some of the fundamentals that we want. We’ve put in place the systematic play. You only get so many dates to practice in the year, so your camp has to be really efficient. I thought it was.”
Here are four more takeaways from the Hawks’ preseason:
Hawks look slightly improved
The Hawks technically went 2-4-0 in the preseason, but the only game that featured full NHL lineups on both sides happened Saturday: a 3-2 loss to the Wild.
In the game, the Hawks didn’t allow any five-on-five goals and nearly tied it during a furious final-minutes push. That’s better than they’ve fared in most matchups against the Wild over the last few years, having lost 15 of the last 16 regular meetings.
By that measurement, perhaps this season’s Hawks team will be slightly more competitive than the past few, with a smaller gap between them and the middle of the league. But that can’t be declared with any confidence yet.
Grzelcyk gets contract
Matt Grzelcyk, a camp tryout, signed a one-year, $1 million contract Sunday to stick around with the Hawks, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported.
The decision seemed probable not because of anything Grzelcyk did — the eight-year NHL veteran was just OK in the preseason — but rather because the young defensemen he was competing against — Ethan Del Mastro, Kevin Korchinski and Nolan Allan — struggled so much.
Korchinski and Allan were sent to Rockford on Sunday, leaving eight defensemen on the NHL roster, including Del Mastro and Louis Crevier as well as Grzelcyk. More clarity on Tuesday’s lineup will likely come Monday.
Nazar could drive offense
Frank Nazar was the Hawks’ best player in the preseason, tallying four goals and one assist in four games (plus 11 individual scoring chances), even if he wasn’t personally satisfied.
“I think I can be a lot better,” Nazar said Friday. “[There are] a lot of parts of my game I need to round out from summer…[to] get rid of those bad habits. I need to stop on pucks, go through guys and stop reaching.”
It was an encouraging sign that his torrid finish to last season wasn’t just a flash in the pan, a la Lukas Reichel in 2023. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect 50-plus points from Nazar this season.
Frank Nazar again! 2-0 Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/nV80zW4iVe
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025
Rookie forwards Ryan Greene and Oliver Moore, meanwhile, were both sent to Rockford on Sunday — a slightly surprising decision in Moore’s case.
Penalty kill needs grace
Under Blashill last season, the Lightning ranked 22nd in the NHL in net penalty-kill rate (77.8%) in October but were the best in the league (88.8%) from Nov. 1 on. It took them time to adjust to and master the aggressive, high-risk reads Blashill’s system requires.
It remains to be seen whether that system will work for the Hawks at all, but October needs to be a grace period for the unit. They unsurprisingly struggled during the preseason, allowing five goals on 17 opportunities (70.6%).
“We were very comfortable as a unit in what we did last year,” captain Nick Foligno said. “But if this is the way he’s coaching it, we’re all smart enough on the ‘PK’ to know how to adjust. It’s just going to take some time to get out of the old habits.”