Which Chicago Blackhawks Superstar Could the Team Least Afford to Lose?

The depth on the Chicago Blackhawks' roster is most likely the key to their chances of making a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup in the spring.

The Blackhawks have star power at every level. When Patrick Sharp was out of the lineup with a knee injury suffered in early November, head coach Joel Quenneville asked his team to pick up the pace, and the players clearly followed his advice as they went 11-3-0 without him.

Sharp led the Blackhawks in scoring last year, but the Blackhawks played as if they did not miss their sharpshooter a bit.

A few weeks later, Corey Crawford injured himself with a misstep while attending a concert in Chicago. General manager Stan Bowman called up Scott Darling from Rockford, the minor leaguer shared goaltending duties with backup Antti Raanta and the Blackhawks continued to win.

The Blackhawks did not suffer after losing their most potent scorer and Stanley Cup-winning goalie. That begs the question of which Blackhawks superstar the team can least afford to lose.

We know that the team can do just find without Sharp or Crawford—at least on a short-term basis—but what would happen if it had to deal with the absence of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa or Duncan Keith for an extended period?

Could the team survive without any of them for a month or more? How would they make up for their losses?

Marian Hossa

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Hossa, 35, appears to be the least important of the foursome—at least according to the numbers. The 6'1", 210-pound right winger has not been as productive as he has been throughout his career.

He has scored six goals and 15 assists through his first 32 games, and while he has scored 30 or more goals eight times in his career, that achievement would appear to be a long shot at this point.

Even though he has reached an age where a lot of players slow down, that description does not apply to Hossa. He may not be scoring a lot of goals with the midpoint of the season just around the corner, but he is one of the best three-zone players in the NHL.

He is a consistent defensive player and excels in the neutral zone, which is why it seems quite likely that Hossa's scoring totals will increase as the season progresses. He plays the game the right way and has the respect of his coaches and his teammates. 

While he is not a big talker in the locker room, Hossa is like a security blanket to his teammates. They know he is going to give it 100 percent every night and is a solid example for everyone else in a Blackhawks uniform.

His plus-19.37 on-ice Corsi is evidence of how much Hossa means to to the team. 

Patrick Kane

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

If Hossa is Mr. Steady, Kane is Mr. Spectacular for the Blackhawks. His tendency to rise to the occasion and score the key goals at the biggest moments cannot be overstated.

He has been doing just that since his rookie season in 2007-08, and his resume is a source of pride for Blackhawks fans. His biggest goal came in Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers, giving Chicago its first cup since 1961, but he has been racking up huge playoff goals since then.

Kane always had the skill level and his brilliance with the puck makes him the equivalent of basketball's Meadowlark Lemon.

As Kane, 26, has gotten older and matured, he has gotten more serious about his game and avoided the off-ice incidents that embarrassed himself and the organization earlier in his career.

Kane is the team's leading scorer with 15 goals and 17 assists through 32 games and seems like a cinch to break through the 30-goal mark this year (his career high)—and possibly approaching 35 to 40 goals.

Duncan Keith

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

It's difficult to overstate the importance of Keith to the Blackhawks. The 31-year-old defenseman has won the Norris Trophy twice, and his talent and instincts are two of the key reasons that Chicago has won two Stanley Cups since 2010.

Keith has scored six goals and 12 assists this season, and Quenneville knows that his stellar defenseman can get it done at both ends of the ice whenever necessary.

Keith has a plus-17.79 on-ice Corsi through the team's first 32 games.

Keith endeared himself to Blackhawks fans during the 2010 Stanley Cup run when he got hit by a clearing pass in the face against San Jose and lost several teeth in the process. In a truly heroic manner, Keith was back on the ice later in the game and helped the team secure a key victory.

Keith did not play in the Blackhawks' 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild Tuesday night due to an undisclosed illness. With the mumps outbreak going on throughout the NHL, there was a feeling of uneasiness throughout the Chicago locker room.

Quenneville told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune that he did not know what was specifically wrong with Keith and would not guess if it was the mumps. 

"I'm not sure about that," Quenneville said. "I don't know what's wrong. He's sick. Not feeling good."

Jonathan Toews

Toews may not make as many highlight-film plays as Kane, but the Blackhawks' captain may be as close to an invaluable a player as the Blackhawks have on their roster.

His nickname, Captain Serious, truly tells his story. Toews may be 26, but he has had the demeanor of a 30-year-old veteran in the prime of his career since he arrived in Chicago as a 19-year-old rookie in 2007-08.

Toews can do it all on the ice, as he is an outstanding faceoff man (56.8 percent of his draws this year), a solid scorer (28 points) and a hard-nosed defensive player.

He has a plus-20.10 on-ice Corsi and will regularly make sacrifices with his body if it means that the Blackhawks will gain possession of the puck.

Toews has led the Blackhawks to two Stanley Cups, and he has also been one of the key members of two gold medal-winning Olympic teams for Canada. He was an alternate captain in Sochi earlier this year.

Hossa, Kane, Keith and Toews are all vitally important to the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup effort, and a long-term injury to any of them could have serious negative consequences.

With that said, Keith is one of the two or three best defensemen in the league and Toews has earned the same status among forwards even though his scoring totals don't reflect it. They appear to be the two most important players on the team.

Could they survive without either one and still win the Stanley Cup? The best guess is they need both in the lineup to lift the trophy, but if they had to play without one, they would have their best chance of winning if Toews remained in the lineup and did not miss a game.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Behind the Net.