Blackhawks' Joey Anderson quietly enjoyed career breakthrough by not obsessing about it

LOS ANGELES — Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson has enjoyed the best season of his career by not obsessing about his career, achieving success in a roundabout way.

“It sounds funny to say it like this, but I think I’ve matured, just in my life,” Anderson said. “I haven’t been so gung-ho about where I’m at. I’ve done a much better job this year of just taking things day-by-day.

“My identity hasn’t been so stuck on being a hockey player, especially this year. I just take so much pride in my stuff away from the rink.”

Anderson and his wife, Sami, have a 16-month-old daughter and are expecting another baby in May. There’s a lot of joy in their family right now, which translates into an optimistic mood about all aspects of his life.

At the rink, meanwhile, the 25-year-old forward didn’t let his assignment to Rockford to start the season demoralize him. He performed so well down there — racking up 16 points in 14 games while playing sound defense — that he made himself a no-brainer call-up by late November.

Since then, he has been a stalwart in the Hawks’ lineup. The season finale Thursday against the Kings will mark his 55th appearance of the season — a stark contrast to the 96 NHL games he played over the first five years of his pro career combined.

He hasn’t worried about his standing within the Hawks’ forward hierarchy or depth chart. He hasn’t thought too much about his contract expiring this coming summer. He hasn’t daydreamed about his long-term future or analyzed his road to get here. He has simply focused on doing his job, and that approach has worked perfectly.

“Every day you show up and it’s like, ‘All right, this is a new day,’ ” he said. “That mindset has helped slow me down . . . as opposed to my past opportunities, [when] maybe I got a little carried away looking at the big picture and looking back at my year. I’ve been more in the present mindset.

“I go home every day and get away from the game, and then every day is a reset. Especially here right now, losing a lot of games, it helps to come into the rink as fresh as you can be. It’s another year where I’ve learned a lot.”

Just like his family’s joy has rubbed off on him, his joy has rubbed off on the rest of the Hawks, too.

“Every time he’s on the ice, he does something positive, and that’s helpful to everybody,” coach Luke Richardson said. “He’s a guy in the dressing room that has a smile on his face every day. It’s hard not to have those guys around.”

Reliable defense

Anderson’s offensive production in the NHL this season — four goals and 12 assists — didn’t amount to much, but he and Jason Dickinson formed the backbone of the Hawks’ best defensive line for several months.

Relative to their teammates’ results, they were analytically one of the stouter defensive duos in the entire league. Anderson’s 47.3% scoring-chance ratio during five-on-five play still leads the team.

“I’ve been focusing on making sure I’m in the right spots defensively, pushing out and trying to create space,” he said. “I’ve liked my penalty-killing; I’ve done a pretty good job in that situation, too.”

After Thursday, however, his attention will be forced to turn to his expiring contract. The Hawks and Anderson’s camp haven’t yet discussed a possible new deal, but he said he would love to stay in Chicago.

And despite the summer overhaul awaiting the Hawks’ forward corps, Anderson seems like one of the few free agents with a genuine chance to return.

“I absolutely have loved my time here,” he said. “We’ll see how that plays out, but I would love to be here in some kind of role.”