Season Review
The Blackhawks went off on a hot start led by Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin. However, injuries caught up with Chicago and decimated their lieup throughout the season (losing Havlat for about 20 games, #1C Handzus for 3/4 the season, and other injuries). Chicago ended up plummeting to the bottom of the standings and they won the lottery for #1 pick overall.

Offseason Needs
A playmaking center for Havlat is paramount. Havlat started off the first month of the season with a 120 point pace. Thats ridiculous considering Chicago had such a poor powerplay this season and he had no other talented players to play with. A solid 2nd line would also relieve some of the pressure on Havlat. A pair of top 6 wingers and a #1C would be nice.

Next Season Outlook
Chicago has lots of young talented forward that can make the roster next season (Toews, Bolland, Skille) and lots of young talent defensemen ready to mature (Duncan, Seabrook, Barker). Chicago will have some room to improve, but unless they sign a top tier center like Gomez or Briere, they won't be going up in the standings much. I'd expect them to land another top 5 lotto pick next year.