Jason Dickinson Making Case to Be Part of Blackhawks Future

Besides Dickinson having a career year, he has been continually pushing the Blackhawks to be better on and off the ice, and it’s paying off. Here is a look at his influence this season.

Dickinson’s Blackhawks Arrival

What’s funny about Dickinson’s arrival to the Blackhawks is that he was essentially a “throw-in.” The Blackhawks acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks in October 2022 as a way to get a 2024 second-round draft pick. Vancouver needed to shed salary, and Dickinson had a career-worst 11 points in 62 games with Vancouver after signing a three-year, $7.95 million contract. So, he was a salary cap dump that the Hawks pounced on to gain assets for the rebuild, but they also knew that the 28-year-old brought seven years of NHL experience and could be a serviceable veteran center for the lineup. It also didn’t help that he dealt with a broken hand while with the Canucks, which affected his production, so it was also safe to assume that he would bounce back. It was a good gamble.

When he arrived in Chicago, he mentioned that he couldn’t tune out the outside noise in Vancouver, like he was able to do when he was with the Dallas Stars for six years prior. He said, “I was able to just shut off and not think, just play [with the Stars]. And that’s all I’ve got to do with the Hawks.” (from ‘Jason Dickinson’s trade came as a surprise- ‘I didn’t see it coming’- but the forward is embracing his move to the Chicago Blackhawks’ – Chicago Tribune – 10/15/2022). Dickinson was certainly able to do that!

He ended up playing a top-six and bottom-six role last season and had more of a top-six role when Patrick Kane and Max Domi got traded at the trade deadline, and he did exceptionally well with 30 points in 78 games, which was a career-high. Now, this season, he is shattering more career highs.

Jason Dickinson’s Leadership With Blackhawks

It’s easy to look at Dickinson this season and think of his offensive success on the eye test alone. After all, he is third-best on the Blackhawks in points with 21 and is second in goals with 14 (behind Connor Bedard’s 15 goals). He already broke his career-high in goals (9) and is on pace to end the season with 28 goals and 42 points, which would shatter his career-high from last season.

It seemed like he was destined to have a good year, even from training camp. Dickinson alluded to looking forward to being in more of a bottom-six role, compared to last season, since that role comes more naturally to him. For the most part, he has been a mainstay on the third line, one of the Blackhawks’ most successful lines, no matter who he plays with. Whether it was Nick Foligno, Corey Perry, Tyler Johnson, Taylor Hall, or Joey Anderson, offense and gritty play have made opponents’ jobs tough on a nightly basis.

Currently, Dickinson is back to a top-six role with Bedard, Anthony Beauvillier, and Tyler Johnson on injured reserve, but he is still as steady as ever. He is on a three-game point streak (2 goals, 1 assist), including the go-ahead goal to put the Blackhawks up 1-0 early on the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 9. Dickinson also leads the team in shooting percentage (21.9%), faceoff wins (46.6% success rate), takeaways (34), and is tied with defensemen Alex Vlasic for best plus/minus (plus-9). He is leading on all fronts on the ice.

However, he is also just as important off the ice. Dickinson has always come off as a quiet leader with a very inquisitive mind. He has always had insightful observations about the rebuild but has been more vocal this season. It showed on Dec. 22 when the Blackhawks lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-2, where he called for more accountability, stating, “We want to win. We want to battle, but the execution isn’t there all the time. Comes with being a young team, but at a certain point you just have to figure it out. Simple as that.” He has been pushing for his team to improve, which is an excellent quality, as winning habits start somewhere.

Dickinson has also been a good advocate for his team, advocating for the team to get reinforcements when nine players were placed on the injured reserve and even consoling Bedard after fracturing his jaw. He has stepped up to the plate. It could have been easy for the Blackhawks to crumble after Bedard got hit by New Jersey Devils’ forward Brendan Smith on Jan. 5, which caused the fractured jaw. It was the first period, and they lost their best player on top of losing most of their roster already. Yet, Dickinson took it upon himself and got his team on the scoreboard first to make it 1-0. They lost 4-2, but it was a great team effort, regardless, and he started it. His play gives the Blackhawks confidence, and it showed against Edmonton, too, by scoring the goal, drawing a penalty, and keeping Connor McDavid relatively quiet when being paired against him.

There’s a reason he got the alternate captain nod after Seth Jones went down with a left shoulder injury in December.

Should Dickinson Be Part of Blackhawks’ Future?

During the preseason, Foligno talked about Dickinson’s reliability and how responsible he is. Head coach Luke Richardson praised his complete game and how he plays the right way and sets an example for the rest of the team. He is a free agent at the end of the season and someone who will likely have a market at the trade deadline, but according to Scott Powers of The Athletic, he believes the Blackhawks could look to re-sign him, Foligno, Anderson, and Petr Mrazek “for the right term.” (from ‘What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks: Free agents, Lukas Reichel and more’ – The Athletic – 01/04/2024). Management undoubtedly has a hard decision on their hands, but Dickinson is making the best case to stay. He is positively impacting the team and could continue to bring a wealth of knowledge and leadership to a team that will still be young and hungry next season.

Either way, Dickinson is having fun, as he stated, “I’m shooting the puck a lot more, shooting it more accurately. Definitely has to be some puck luck in there.” His contributions have been second to none for the Blackhawks: leadership, production, and pushing for more out of himself and his teammates, despite all the adversity with seven players still on injured reserve. It may pay off more as there is a possibility he could be the Blackhawks’ representative for the All-Star Game in February, with Bedard missing six to eight weeks. If he does get chosen, it will be well-deserved.

Not bad for a player that was seemingly an afterthought to the second-round pick in the initial trade. Dickinson is one of two players who have played in every game this season (next to Connor Murphy); he shows up every night and has won the fanbase over. The Blackhawks and Dickinson both benefitted greatly from the trade. Now, we’ll have to see if they want to keep this partnership going in the future.