FEATURE: Consistent Saad Rebounded from Rare Injury for Near-Career Year

Sitting on the sidelines is not something Brandon Saad has had much experience with throughout his career. Since his debut as a regular in the lineup in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, the winger had missed just nine total games in seven NHL seasons prior to 2019-20. So when he missed 13 games in late December and early January with an ankle injury, it was a new obstacle for the nearly 600-game veteran.

"The injury was tough for me," said Saad, one of two Blackhawks with double-digit goal counts on Dec. 19 when he went down following a second-period collision with Winnipeg's Lucas Sbisa. "I haven't really missed too many games in my career, so sitting through that was definitely tough. But at the same time, you get to watch a little bit of hockey and kind of mentally prepare for when you do come back. You can learn in that aspect as well. You make the best of a bad situation."
Make the best he did, scoring four goals in his first four games back and finding the net a total 10 times in 22 games before the season was paused in mid-March, a 50 percent improvement on his pre-injury scoring rate and second most on the team in that span. He finished third in goals for the year with 21 -- riding a pace that would've eclipsed his highest scoring total in a Blackhawks sweater (23 in 2018-19) and come close to his career-high of 31.

Where the pure goal total doesn't tell the complete story is in the type of goals Saad put home during the regular season. Five times he scored the first goal of the game, something Chicago did 32 times in total but no single player did more. Another five times, he scored the game-winning goal -- leading scorers Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik had four apiece. And he scored two shorthanded tallies, both a result of relentless forechecking when playing down a man.
"We had a good team. I got the opportunity to play with some good players," Saad said of his success as a whole, crediting his offseason work both on and off the ice last summer as his biggest asset. "I think the biggest thing is just having a good offseason, being prepared mentally, physically and then keeping that confidence throughout the season."
"He was probably one of our most consistent players all year. You know what to expect out of him," head coach Jeremy Colliton said of Saad before entering the playoff bubble. "He's so strong on his skates, he's able to protect the puck up ice. He can get you from the defensive zone to the offensive zone, carry someone on his back. He's a playoff-type player."
In the playoffs, the offense was there -- scoring five points (2G, 3A) in nine games -- but his two-way game took center stage as the top line was consistently tasked with shutting down the opposition's top line, drawing matchups against Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid more often than not.
"Being able to do that and being able to get the taste of some playoff hockey again," Saad said, "I know for our young guys and even our older guys, too, it's always fun to be part of those games. You're always gaining experience through that."

Heading into his ninth full season as an NHLer, that offseason approach is one that will -- like pretty much anything these days -- be unlike any other. Saad is currently back home in Pittsburgh recovering from the "bumps and bruises" that come with any playoff run and starting to workout in his gym at home. With only a tentative start date for next season and ever-changing landscape with access to ice, though, that preparation and mental fortitude will factor bigger than ever.
"It's going to be interesting this year with COVID and what rinks are open and how we have to do it. That's going to be a little bit of a learning experience," he said. "Fortunately I have a gym here in my house, so that doesn't affect anything, but when comes time to skate, whether that's here in Pittsburgh or back in Chicago or back and forth, it's a new offseason. It's also in the Fall and it's only a couple of months (long). I think the training camps (are planned) for mid-November, so that's kind of how you have to prepare and be ready for the season."