When the Blackhawks visit the Wild on Wednesday, it appears as if Jonathan Toews will have Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik as his linemates for the third consecutive game.
That must feel like an eternity given how often coach Joel Quenneville has churned his lines this season — specifically Toews’ line, on which almost every winger on the roster (and some currently in Rockford) has gotten a turn.
Toews’ scoring numbers (10 goals, 20 assists) are down, in part because of an ailing back that plagued him early in the season and sidelined him for nine games in November and December.
But he also has changed linemates this season — and last season, too, for that matter — more than he anticipated when the Hawks traded Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets in the 2015 offseason.
"I would never have predicted that my line would change as much as it has," Toews said. "Give credit to (Saad) — he’s a great player and a lot of fun to play with — but you can’t look at one thing like that and hang your hat on that excuse. It’s up to me to find that consistency with whoever I’m playing with."
Toews is always one to put the onus on himself first and foremost, and he knows his $10.5 million salary carries with it a burden to produce. But he admitted the revolving door has made it hard to develop chemistry over multiple games the way Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin have blossomed together.
"As good as they’ve been, you don’t really remember them for the game they might have been off or they didn’t score," Toews said. "You give them some time to recover and they’ll get back on the horse and get their offense going.
"Sometimes it is tough when you have to start that chemistry over. Sometimes it’s midway through games or it’s a couple times per week. Sometimes, even if I go a few games without scoring or producing, it’d be nice to start to build that chemistry and start to know where the other two guys are on your line.
"It’s no knock against myself or anybody that I’ve been on a line with. It’s about building that chemistry, being predictable for each other."
But Quenneville keeps tinkering with the lines every so often. And if general manager Stan Bowman is true to his word that the Hawks do not plan on making a big splash at the trade deadline, Toews might not have another headliner, such as Andrew Ladd a season ago, to play with come March.
"That’s kind of a feel thing, and sometimes the record will dictate how long they stay together," Quenneville said. "Is it progressing where it looks like it’ll come together? And it looks like it could have some staying power? With him, we always want to make sure we give it enough chance at least to survive and exist."
Toews likes his current line iteration. Schmaltz has been playing better over the last month during his second stint with the team, while Panik and Toews have formed a formidable combination in the past. Ultimately, though, Toews said it’s on him to make it work.
"It’s up to me to take ownership and play the best game that I can every single night and make sure that consistency is there," Toews said. "Then when it comes down to it, that’s Q’s decision who he thinks I should be out there with. I’ll leave it at that."
chine@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
