The Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up their season on Tuesday with a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. The Blackhawks are entering the offseason on a two-game winning streak.
However, the winning streak is little consolation for a season where they ended with a 25-46-11 record, the second-worst in the NHL.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a conflict
Per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, there appeared to be conflict between veterans and young players on the Blackhawks, especially as ice time was given to the youth toward the end of the season. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen hinted a issues in the locker room between veterans and the up-and-comers.
“There were bad stretches throughout the year, and there were different reasons for that,” Sorensen said. “I think there’s a lot of undercurrent that people don’t know about, that goes behind [the scenes], that nobody’s going to talk about.”
This Anders Sorensen quote today was interesting: "There were bad stretches throughout the year, and there were different reasons for that. I think there's a lot of undercurrent that people don't know about, that goes behind [the scenes], that nobody's going to talk about."
I…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 17, 2025
Dominic James turned down a contract
© Timothy Arrick/For the Livingston Daily / USA TODAY NETWORK
Some young players appeared deterred by the lack of progress the Blackhawks made in Connor Bedard’s second season in Chicago.
Per Pope, general manager Kyle Davidson said forward prospect Dominic James turned down an opportunity with the Blackhawks and will head into free agency.
“Davidson says the Blackhawks offered Dominic James a ‘pretty (expletive) good opportunity,/ but it currently seems like he’s going to free agency in August. ‘No ill will,'” Pope posted on X.
The Blachawks selected James in the sixth round of the 2022 draft. He was expected to spend the next season with the Rockford IceHogs after a standout career with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
The team captain finished his college career with 77 points on 30 goals and 47 assists. He scored 14 goals and 16 assists in his last season with the Bulldogs.
Now James is headed to free agency for a chance to sign with a team in a better position than one that appointed a coach with no experience to head coach of the IceHogs this season, when Sorensen took over the Blackhawks after Luke Richardson was fired.
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