Blackhawks Given Even-Money Odds to Make NHL Playoffs, Wild Dip to +120

• The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons
• The front office has assembled a veteran supporting cast around the core that’s won three Stanley Cups
• The Minnesota Wild have +120 odds to return to the playoffs in a transition season for the club

The Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild both finished last season outside the NHL playoff picture, finishing one point apart at the bottom of the Central Division standings. Now, with the start of the upcoming NHL campaign just five weeks away, both the Blackhawks and Wild find themselves facing tempered expectations of returning to postseason contention.

Here’s a look at how the two clubs currently stack up in the 2020 NHL playoff odds.

Chicago Blackhawks: Odds to Make the Playoffs

*Odds as of Aug. 27, 2019.

Blackhawks Veteran Lineup Retooled for Playoff Run

The Chicago Blackhawks’ fall from grace continued last season. Winners of three Stanley Cup championships between 2010 and 2015, the Blackhawks have failed to get past the first round in two playoff appearances since, and have now missed the postseason in each of the past two years.

The club has maintained the superstar core from its Cup-winning squads, most notably captain Jonathan Toews and sniper Patrick Kane, along with rearguards Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and netminder Corey Crawford. But keeping that core longterm force hard choices elsewhere on the roster, and the team had to part ways with star winger Artemi Panarin in 2017, just months after inking him to a two-year, $12 million deal, in just one of several moves designed to ease a salary-cap crunch.

The Blackhawks have taken a different approach this summer. With the clock ticking on the prime playing days of Kane, Toews, and company, general manager Stan Bowman has been busy assembling a veteran supporting cast around his stars.

The most notable additions have come on the blue line, with Calvin de Haan and Olli Maatta arriving via trade. In addition, Vezina Trophy-finalist Robin Lehner joins the club on a one-year contract, and will be expected to push Crawford, who has been limited by injury to just 67 appearances over the past two seasons.

Jennings winner Robin Lehner signs 1yr $5 million contract with the #blackhawks Lehner is gonna out play Crawford for 1st spot @HoldTheMayoNola #HoldTheMayo #HTM #nhl #NHLFreeAgency #Chicago #HockeyTwitter #Hockey pic.twitter.com/WQfbUOBJC9

— The Bayou Benders (@BayouBenders) July 2, 2019

If the Blackhawks are to return to the postseason, it will likely be as a Western Conference wild card. Chicago faces a huge task to keep pace in a highly competitive Central Division that features five teams heavily favored to make the playoffs including the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues, who sport -250 odds of returning to postseason action. However, the Blackhawks showed clear signs of turning the corner in the second half of last season, tallying a very respectable 20-10-3 over their final 33 games. The club also rose to the occasion against divisional rivals, going 14-8-4, and ranked eighth in the NHL with 3.26 goals per game.

Chicago faces a huge task to keep pace in a highly competitive Central Division that features five teams heavily favored to make the playoffs, including the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues

It remains to be seen whether Bowman’s offseason moves have been enough to patch up a Blackhawks defense that ranked 30th while surrendering 3.55 goals per game, but it is likely enough to make Chicago an intriguing value wager at +100 in the current NHL playoff odds.

Pick: Blackhawks to make the NHL playoffs (+100)

Minnesota Wild: Odds to Make the Playoffs

More Changes Likely in Store for Struggling Wild

Long considered a team on the rise, the Minnesota Wild failed to fulfill the postseason promise in six straight appearances. A front office shakeup intended to kickstart the club also ended in dismal failure this summer, leaving the club at a crossroads entering the current campaign.

During his one year at the helm, recently fired general manager Paul Fenton pulled the trigger on some deals that have left observers scratching their heads. Most notable among them a deal that shipped Nino Niederreiter to Carolina in exchange for oft-injured center Victor Rask, as well as a trade that sent Charlie Coyle to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Ryan Donato and a fifth-round pick.

Nino Niederreiter has 8 goals 4 assists in 12 games for the Hurricanes 🇨🇭🇨🇭🇨🇭

Victor Rask has 8 goals in his last 71 NHL games.

— The Canes Stats Brand™ (@CanesStats) February 16, 2019

Fresh off their worst season since 2011-2012, which they finished with just five wins in their final 17 outings, and a disappointing 37-36-9 record, the firing of Fenton has made for a quiet summer in Minnesota. The club’s most notable offseason acquisition has been Mats Zuccarello, who arrives in town on a five-year deal following an injury-plagued campaign split between New York and Dallas.

GM Jim Rutherford on former Penguins player and assistant general manager, Bill Guerin: "His leadership both as a player and in the front office were integral to the team winning three Stanley Cups during his time in Pittsburgh."

Thank you, Bill: https://t.co/OlkbMcc8sa pic.twitter.com/lt90eZVcvD

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 21, 2019

The 31-year-old is expected to join recently re-signed forwards Eric Staal and Jason Zucker to form a veteran top unit. But while the Wild have some intriguing youngsters poised to make their mark on the club, including Donato, Kevin Fiala, and Jordan Greenaway, and a sturdy veteran blue line corps led by Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon, it is more likely that this will be a season of transition for the club.

Newly hired GM Bill Guerin is expected to waste no time putting his stamp on the squad. That adds significant value to the current -140 odds of Minnesota missing the playoffs yet again,  which are likely to grow shorter still as opening night approaches.

Pick: Wild to miss the NHL playoffs (-140)