- Alex Vlasic says the Blackhawks are chasing a playoff spot in 2026-27
- Chicago has missed the postseason six years running and finished last in the Central four straight times
- Read below for the Bowen Byram trade text Vlasic wishes he never sent
Alex Vlasic is done tiptoeing around the word.
The Blackhawks defenseman told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago is chasing a playoff spot in 2026-27, and he has no interest in softening it with the usual filler about meaningful games in April.
“It’s a season where we’re trying to make the playoffs,” Vlasic said. “As soon as training camp starts, that’s what our goal is. The sooner we establish that goal as a team, the more realistic it can be.”
Pope asked whether saying it out loud was a risk. Vlasic did not flinch.
“If you’re scared to use that word, it isn’t a good thing,” he said. “It’s a matter of time for us. You have to have that confidence level going in, knowing we’re a team that belongs there.”
Nothing on paper agrees with him yet. The Hawks have missed the playoffs six straight seasons, finished last in the Central four years in a row, and owned the league’s second-worst record in 2025-26. They also open this season without Connor Bedard, who had left shoulder surgery and is not expected back until November.
Vlasic thinks the growth comes from inside the room. More of the young group stayed in Chicago this offseason than in past summers, with Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore all around the rink.
Anton Frondell, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, is lined up for his first full NHL season after joining late last year. Roman Kantserov is another rookie expected to crack the roster.
Vlasic also had a front-row seat for both big offseason moves, and one of them got awkward. He was texting Louis Crevier on June 23 when the Byram blockbuster with Buffalo broke, and Crevier was on vacation in Italy with spotty service.
“He was sending me stuff about the trade, and I was like, ‘No way,’” Vlasic said. “All of a sudden, I see, ‘Louis Crevier included.’ I texted him, ‘Dude, I’m so sad.’ He was like, ‘Oh, why? Did somebody on the team get traded?’”
Crevier went to the Sabres along with the No. 4 and No. 45 picks for Byram and Jordan Greenway. Vlasic broke the news to his own teammate by accident.
“I kind of felt bad,” Vlasic said. “But since he was in Italy, he didn’t have cell service properly, so he wasn’t getting texts from his agent. I was his agent in that scenario.”
The Patrick Kane rumors reached him a different way. Vlasic was skating with Kane at Blackhawks Ice Center, asked him about it once, and got a laugh and a shrug. He found out for real off a gym TV tuned to NHL Network. Rocky Wirtz called Kane minutes into free agency to get it done.
Camp opens in mid-September, and the preseason schedule starts on the 19th. Vlasic wants the playoff talk to start on day one:
