Well, that’s it for the Blackhawks playoff chances for 2025. Well, they were never making the playoffs this year anyway, but they’ve just been mathematically eliminated from contention. Not only is this the fourth straight season that the Blackhawks have failed to qualify, but they also seem to have no real game plan. Their performance leading up to this elimination was…abysmal, to say the least, and after their loss against the Seattle Kraken, defenseman Alex Vlasic admitted that the team’s morale was probably, “the worst it’s been all year.” 

So, yes, the Blackhawks have been clearly struggling, and whatever plans interim coach Anders Sörensen may have for the future seem far from actualization. But who’s to say where to lay the blame? Luke Richardson is either laughing to himself gleefully because the fate of the team is now out of his hands but still totally terrible, or he may be feeling some sense of guilt for contributing to the problems.

Either way, the trolls don’t care. Nor do they care that Jason Dickinson took responsibility for his lackluster performances, saying that he isn’t back to his best shape ever since his injury, or for the potential growth new center Frank Nazar may bring on board, or about the fact that if Connor Bedard, who, on his own, has been breaking records, gets enough support, the team might be able to have a completely different 2025-26 season.

No, all hockey fans care about is that in the five consecutive losses the Blackhawks had building up to the elimination, two of them were along the 6-2 scoreline, and they have just had three wins in their last ten games! But at the end of the day, the trolling is only natural, and they are not being discreet about it.

Trolls and fans alike are mincing no words when it comes to their reactions to the Blackhawks’ elimination

Some are playing the irony card; “You think?!” is a popular theme for X comments, referencing the Blackhawks’ consistently bad performance and the utter lack of hope that they’ve shown since the start of the season. Other fans changed up the same content using dry wit, “Could have written this tweet 3 years ago,” which also works, because it’s true; ever since that playoff elimination in 2017, the Blackhawks never regained their past glory, i.e., that golden period between 2009 and 2015, where they won three Stanley Cups? Yes, the very same Blackhawks (well, a different roster, but you know…on the…inside?).

Other fans have managed to merge their trolling for the Blackhawks with their trolling for the Bruins, scoring a two-for-one burn. “Maybe Blackhawks and Bruins front office should do a switcheroo and see if they can improve each others shit. can’t get any worse for either of these clubs at this point.  Ffs well give you Sweeney for FREE.” The above comment makes a jab at Sweeney because, of course, fans are still salty about that Marchand trade and the aftermath… Indeed, what was that about?

Then of course, there’s the burn that seems to be borne from a burn, the one that sounds like a scorned ex-lover, “This fraud team continues to be FRAUDS.” This is perhaps written by an ex-Blackhawks fan, or perhaps a Connor Bedard fan who resents the rest of the team for robbing him of Stanley Cup glory.

This prophetic X statement sums it all up pretty decently, basing their thoughts just off the Blackhawks performance this season, i.e., after Luke Richardson was fired (ten points to Richardson?), the user confidently states, “I think they were eliminated once the season started.” 

There you have it, another postseason without the Blackhawks, becoming quite the norm these days. But who knows, maybe that phoenix will rise from the ashes soon enough and opposition fans will soon have to sing the praises of Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar? Life sometimes works like that, and all the Blackhawks can do is hope.