theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
The Chicago Blackhawks have captured three Stanley Cups since 2010, and much of that winning core remains intact. We've outlined three questions facing the Blackhawks as they pursue another championship in 2016-17.
Can Panarin repeat last year's dominant performance?
Artemi Panarin entered the NHL last season as a widely unknown quantity, only to ride shotgun to Patrick Kane en route to winning Rookie of the Year honors.
Panarin finished the year with 77 points, second to only Kane in team scoring. This year, he'll be a marked man, making an encore performance more difficult.
Unlike most rookies, who are often teenagers, Panarin began his NHL career at age 24, with several years of KHL experience easing his transition to the NHL ranks. With that in mind, is it possible he's already reached his ceiling?
Panarin will look to prove he's still got room to grow as he tries to fill the scoring gap left by the offseason departures of Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen, as well as deadline acquisition Andrew Ladd, who tallied 12 points in 19 games with the Blackhawks last season.
Where's the secondary scoring?
We know about Panarin, Kane, and captain Jonathan Toews, but aside from those three, does this team have enough firepower?
Two of the next four highest-scoring forwards (Teravainen and Shaw) are no longer with the team. Next up is center Artem Anisimov, who finished sixth in team scoring with 42 points, and then veteran winger Marian Hossa, who had his worst showing since his rookie campaign, finishing with just 33 points.
The Blackhawks have a number of up-and-coming forwards who can provide offensive support - namely Ryan Hartman, Nick Schmaltz, and Mark McNeill - but it's unclear how soon that production will come. Putting their scoring hopes on the backs of rookies is risky business.
Is there enough defensive depth?
Much like the Hawks' forward group, their blue line is top-heavy, with defensive stalwarts in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and an ideal second-pairing defender in Niklas Hjalmarsson. The rest of the group leaves a lot to be desired.
Head coach Joel Quenneville shuffled his bottom pairing last season, struggling to find the right fit. Eleven defensemen saw time on the Blackhawks' blue line in 2015-16.
The team brought back former Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell, 37, who spent the last five seasons with the Florida Panthers. While it'd be unrealistic to expect the same production Campbell provided the Blackhawks in his first tenure, he'll solidify the team's top four, after leading all Panthers in ice time last season (22:16 minutes per game).
Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Kempny are the likely favorites to fill out the bottom pairing. Van Riemsdyk appeared in all 82 games last season, while Kempny joins the team as a free agent, after spending last season with Omsk of the KHL, leading the team's blue-liners with 21 points.
The Hawks also re-signed experienced defenseman Michal Rozsival, who, when healthy, provides veteran support on the back end.
