Jamal Mayers Proving To Be Blackhawks’ Best Offseason Addition
This eight-game losing streak by the Blackhawks has called quite a bit into question.
Many are wondering if this team is actually better than last year’s team, whether they’ll even make the playoffs, and whether or not Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman should feel entirely comfortable in their posts.
We’ve already touched on some of the flaws with Joel Quenneville, but this miserable skid has also reared its ugly head at Bowman, whose offseason moves have been brought into question.
The Blackhawks didn’t make a big pickup this past summer, leaving them without a second line center, which hasn’t exactly been a quiet need, and a third defenseman after he dumped Brian Campbell for Rusty Olesz, who is now playing his home games in Rockford. Instead, he opted for smaller pickups, emphasizing toughness.
While the night-to-night effectiveness of some of those guys remains to be seen, some of that thanks to Coach Q, Jamal Mayers have proven to be an excellent pickup for the Blackhawks.
Mayers was brought in to fill a couple of roles, both on the ice and off of it. He was expected to be a dependable, gritty guy in the bottom six forwards, and bring a top notch presence to the locker room as well. He’s done both.
That ‘gritty’ aspect has been an easy one for Mayers to fill, as he came to Chicago having spent his entire career as a grinder, whether it was in St. Louis or San Jose. He’s fought eight times this season, never backing down from an opponent, to go along with his 77 hits in 56 games.
But he’s also contributed on other aspects, like special teams. Mayers has been a contributor on the Blackhawks’ penalty kill unit, logging less minutes than only Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland, and Marian Hossa when the Hawks are a man down. When he’s at full strength, Mayers has shown the flexibility to play both on the wing at in the middle, and has played with more than just the fourth unit.
He’s not a flashy guy and he’s not going to light up the stat sheet, though he is just one goal shy of his total output from the past three seasons, but Mayers has filled his role with the Blackhawks to perfection. It’s unclear how much longer Mayers might be around in the NHL, but he’s definitely one I wouldn’t mind seeing back at the United Center next season.
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