Blackhawks' current usage of Nick Lardis isn't working and doesn't make sense

The Blackhawks called up rookie forward Nick Lardis after the trade deadline only to bury him in a fourth-line role, giving him less than 11 minutes of ice time per game.

The usage doesn't make sense.

Coach Jeff Blashill gave an interesting explanation Monday that it's easier for a player to establish himself in the NHL if he shows he can fit in all 12 forward spots, not just in the top six.

Lardis demonstrating that "he can add offense without having to be on the ice with the very best players on the team" would theoretically double his job prospects, Blashill said. He added that it's "hard to learn how to play 10 minutes a night when you’re playing 20 minutes a night."

All of that may be true. But it's not depth forwards whom the Hawks lack. They have plenty of those, and will likely find plenty more within their enormous prospect pool.

The biggest thing actually holding the Hawks back right now is a lack of top-six forwards. On the current roster, they have approximately three legitimate top-sixers: Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi.

They're seriously counting on top prospects Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov both hitting, but that's not guaranteed, as promising as they appear to be.

Right now, before Frondell and Kantserov's arrivals, why not try Lardis in a top-six role? This is the time to take risks, and the 20-year-old clearly has talent. He didn't rack up 117 points in the OHL last season and 32 points in 35 games in the AHL this season without it.

Plus, from the Hawks' perspective, given how many lottery tickets they own, a prospect with a 30% chance of becoming a top-six forward and a 70% chance of busting is probably more valuable than one with a 70% chance of becoming a bottom-six forward and a 30% chance of busting.

On defense, Blashill has actually embraced the importance of giving youngsters ample opportunity. On Tuesday against the Wild, he went as far as healthy-scratching steady veteran Matt Grzelcyk to get Ethan Del Mastro in the lineup.

It's perplexing how unwilling he is to follow the same approach with forwards — particularly with veteran Andre Burakovsky, who's showing no signs of breaking out of his slump.

Blashill mentioned he has double-shifted Bedard in Sam Lafferty's fourth-line center spot occasionally, giving Lardis a little time with the Hawks' star.

However, Lardis simply isn't getting enough shifts in general — only 12 all game Tuesday, for example. And he's still spending most of his time with Lafferty and Landon Slaggert, who aren't exactly offensive facilitators.

It's not working well, either. The Hawks have been outscored 2-0 and outshot 21-8 — with an abysmal 8.8% expected-goals ratio — during Lardis' five-on-five ice time in five games since his call-up. Individually, he has just one shot (and it came on the power play).

Compare that to Lardis' stats in 21 games in December and January, largely while Bedard was injured: 13:39 of ice time per game, 32 shots on goal, five goals, 46.4% expected-goals ratio.

Another comparison: Predators forward Luke Evangelista, a similar player to Lardis in many ways, averaged a sizable 16:34 of ice time when called up for the final 24 games of the 2022-23 season.

Evangelista tallied seven goals and eight assists during that trial run, earning a permanent NHL job, and he's now pacing for nearly 60 points in his fourth season in Nashville.

Could the Hawks have a similar gem in Lardis? They'll only find out if they give him an opportunity to prove it.

"When I do get my opportunity, [I want to make sure] I'm taking full advantage of it and showing these little details to the coaches so they can trust me with more minutes," Lardis said Tuesday.

Little details

To give the Hawks some credit, their staff is working diligently with Lardis to improve his skills and make him a more well-rounded player, despite his lack of in-game opportunities.

Blashill mentioned Lardis "has a natural tendency to not want to skate with the puck" that the Hawks are trying to change. Lardis agreed with that.

"When you get the puck as a younger guy, I don't want to say you panic, but you sometimes want to give it up right away," Lardis said.

"[It's] about wanting the puck more on the breakout, skating with the puck and not deferring to just making a play standing still. It's something I've got to keep continuing to get better at. There's been times where I feel like I've done it and...opened space for myself and my teammates to make an easy play. And there's been times where I haven't, and I've seen how it makes a difference."

During practices and video sessions, he's working on memorizing teammates' assigned routes on defensive-zone breakouts so he will instinctively know where they're going to be. That's something more NHL experience should help with.

He's also working on quick scans of the ice before he gets the puck. He appeared to do that during his last shift of the second period Tuesday, for example, and it allowed him and Lafferty to execute a smooth breakout.

"You have that awareness after a good scan to skate the puck, get out of the zone," Lardis said. "You're not just deferring to chipping it out or making a pass back to your 'D.'"