The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t gritty. There, the cat is out of the bag.
Although, they’ve never really had a sense of grit since Andrew Shaw departed for the Montreal Canadiens. They don’t have that presence on the ice that cements a medium to send a message to opponents to know they mean business.
Ultimately, scoring sends a great message, but they lack a lot of that in a sense. Throughout almost the entirety of last season, teams walked all over the Blackhawks and showed them they can overpower, outhit and outweigh their opponent. If, they add grit, they just might be able to pick up a feeling they’ve been missing for the past year.