signed forwards Mattias Janmark, Lucas Wallmark, and Carl Soderberg during free agency to one-year deals. Veteran forward Brandon Saad was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche for defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm. The team's captain, Jonathan Toews, announced he would forgo the season due to an undisclosed medical illness. The Blackhawks parted with longtime netminder Corey Crawford, who signed with the New Jersey Devils but ultimately retired before the season's start. Brent Seabrook, the team's veteran defenseman, announced his retirement midway through the season due a lingering hip injury sustained in 2019. Andrew Shaw, who previously rejoined the Blackhawks in 2019, also announced he would retire from playing due to concussions suffered throughout his career. The Blackhawks relied heavily on their rookies during the season to replenish their depth, including forwards Brandon Hagel, Philipp Kurashev, and Pius Suter, defensemen Ian Mitchell and Wyatt Kalynuk, and goaltender Kevin Lankinen. Despite the roster turnaround, the Blackhawks completed the first half of the season with a 14–9–5 record and sat in fourth place in their division. The team struggled from mid-March through April, going 8–15–1, and subsequently traded away Janmark, Wallmark, and Soderberg at the trade deadline. The Blackhawks failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished in sixth place with a 24–25–7 record. The Blackhawks also re-arranged their front office in 2020 by naming Danny Wirtz, Rocky Wirtz's son, as their CEO and promoting general manager Stan Bowman to President of Hockey Operations. 2021–present Prior to the 2021–22 season, former Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach alleged he was sexually assaulted by Brad Aldrich, the team's former video coach, during the 2009–10 season. Beach filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks for failing to adequately address Aldrich's wrongdoings or file formal police reports. A separate party, a former high school student whom Aldrich sexually assaulted during his tenure at Houghton High School also filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks, alleging the team gave a positive reference on behalf of Aldrich and failed to disclose any details about his sexual assault in 2010. The Blackhawks partnered with law firm Jenner & Block to conduct an internal investigation that spanned 139 interviews over four months. It revealed that the team's brain trust, including team president John McDonough, executive vice president Jay Blunk, general manager Stan Bowman, assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, and head coach Joel Quenneville met just days before the start of the 2010 Stanley Cup