The NHL kicks off its regular season on Tuesday, October 7 with a triple header featuring the Chicago Blackhawks at the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings.

Davidson has pulled the Blackhawks together enough to take a confident step forward in the last year. They sold off veteran defender Seth Jones to acquire high-potential goaltender Spencer Knight at last year’s Trade Deadline, then awarded lofty extensions to 2024-25 leading goal-scorer Ryan Donato, top prospect Frank Nazar, and Knight.

The Blackhawks had several players step up offensively against the Blues, but Lukas Reichel stood out in a big way. The 2020 first-round pick put together an excellent performance for the Blackhawks against the Blues, as he scored two goals and recorded an assist on the night.

The 2025-26 NHL season is underway but that has not stopped the trade rumor mill from churning, with some teams looking to fix weak spots on their rosters, others seeking partners for underwhelming draft picks,

The Blackhawks were widely expected to be one of the two worst teams in the league. Eight games in, they look much better than that.