Are they messing with us

The west is really wide open right now and any team that isn't in California could get into the playoffs if they go on a run

Shame it looks like they probably won't get a top 8 pick. If I recall correctly, they've got a favourable schedule to finish off the year and if DeBrincat can get that consistent scoring touch back, who knows maybe they get a first round meeting with St. Louis. Or a series vs Lehner and the Knights o_o..

Little things like getting Kubalik on PP1, placing Saad on the PP, moving Strome back to C and finding lines that can work like Kubalik-Toews-Saad / DeBrincat-Dach-Caggiula makes the team so much better. I even saw Lucas Carlsson get power play time which I didn't think Colliton would do. Jules' impact since he returned from his concussion has been huge and I've personally liked Slater Koekkoek despite the poor penalties and a few bad shifts here and there.
Still every time this team shows promise, they come back down to earth. Even in their recent game, a horrible dump in attempt by Boqvist during a line change leads to a goal. Fifty one seconds later, Yamamoto scores in the slot. There are a lot of defensive deficiencies with the d core and chances are guys like Koekkoek, Maatta, Boqvist, Carlsson/Seeler/Gilbert won't fare well in the postseason.

Imo, Chicago could have been a playoff team if they didn't spend the first half of the season trying to figure themselves out. The team has been very inconsistent, Colliton's been disappointing and the injuries exposed their lack of depth this year. Anything can happen in a Hawks-Blues playoff series tbh but picking top 5 and adding a guy like Stutzle or Raymond is tempting. Or even selecting a d man like Jamie Drysdale who has a strong case of being NHL ready in fall could help.

The hard part for CHI will be jumping 4 or 5 teams is the standings when they only play 3 games (home and home vs MN and NSH) against them the rest of the season.

As long as you get a top 9 pick, you’ll get a great player.

Even the Hawks do get to a playoff spot it doesn't stop the fact that we'd be out of the playoffs in 5-6 games and that is if everyone plays at the same level of Toews or Kane. We're better off tanking than making the playoffs, plus would be a great way to prove that Bowman and Colliton need to go.