Chicago Blackhawks season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the Chicago Blackhawks at the pause:

The Chicago Blackhawks expected a lot of competition in the rugged Central Division for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. At the pause, Chicago is on the outside looking in, six points behind the Nashville Predators and Pacific Division's Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card despite standout play from expected and unexpected sources.

To showcase those performances, here are the top players in various categories.

MVP

Patrick Kane has not slowed down in his 13th NHL season. His 33 goals, 51 assists, 84 points and 23 power-play points lead the Blackhawks after his 110 points (44 goals, 66 assists) were third in the NHL last season. The forward is averaging 21:20 of ice time per game, second on Chicago behind defenseman Duncan Keith (24:23).

Rookie

Dominik Kubalik leads NHL rookies with 30 goals and has eight power-play points (four goals, four assists) and three game-winning goals. Kirby Dach got the most attention among Blackhawks rookies entering the season after he was the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, but Kubalik is the forward who has been the most productive.

Defenseman

Keith may not be the same player he was 10 years ago, but he's still pretty good. The 36-year-old remains on the top pair and has been a good role model for young players at the position. Chicago has been hampered by injuries at defenseman, with Calvin de Haan (right shoulder) and Brent Seabrook (right shoulder, hips) each out for the season following surgery in December. Keith just keeps on going.

Defensive forward

Jonathan Toews continues to be the best example of a complete player on the Blackhawks. The center has 60 points (18 goals, 42 assists) in 70 games and is tied for seventh in the NHL in face-off winning percentage (57.3 percent) among players who have taken at least 500 draws. He is averaging 1:55 of shorthanded ice time per game, third among Chicago forwards.

Comeback player

Corey Crawford is 16-20-3 with a 2.77 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout in 40 games (39 starts) after missing 67 games the past two seasons because of concussions. After the Blackhawks traded Robin Lehner to the Vegas Golden Knights before the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 24, Crawford started eight consecutive games, going 5-3-0 with a 2.65 GAA and .921 save percentage.