While I usually try to start my bullets with something Blackhawks related, we can’t avoid what’s going on in the Stanley Cup Final. Indeed, I can’t even try to bury it at this point. What Connor McDavid is doing is superhuman. Last night, the Oilers became the first team in NHL history to win Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on the road after facing a 3-0 series deficit. And they did it on the back of McDavid, who is answering every question (if any remained) about his greatness. Now the pressure is really on the Panthers as the series heads back to Edmonton for Game 6 on… Friday. Yeah, we’ve got two full days/nights off.
The Blackhawks’ front office, like the Stanley Cup, were in Florida on Tuesday. They were there to meet and watch the prospects at the Gold Star workouts, including a number of top Russian prospects — including Ivan Demidov. The Blackhawks reportedly took Demidov out to dinner, as they did with Artyom Levshunov at the Scouting Combine in Buffalo earlier. He made some good early impressions, including speaking English and being taller than previously reported.
Ryan Kennedy at The Hockey News was among the media members who had a chance to speak with Demidov in Florida on Tuesday. I love that he specifically asked if he had a chance to watch any of Connor Bedard playing in the NHL as a rookie, and his response is what you’d want to hear if you’re considering him at No. 2 next week:
“Yeah, I watched him,” Demidov said with a smile. “Those toe-drags were unbelievable. I really like to watch that.”
Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler at The Athletic did their best to answer ten burning questions with the 2024 NHL Draft now becoming close. The No. 2 question was about the No. 2 pick: Who should the Blackhawks take? They’ve differed in most of their mock drafts and rankings, so their answers aren’t a surprise.
Pronman: Artyom Levshunov. He projects as a potential star No. 1 defenseman in the NHL, which is among the hardest profiles to acquire. He’s a 6-2, mobile defender full of offense and he’s shown he can make stops at the college level too. He had a better draft season in the Big Ten than Power or Quinn Hughes did. There are other appealing options, forwards with more skill, or defensemen with a better quality in some area, but he has the cleanest profile and a ton of upside.
Wheeler: I had Levshunov and Ivan Demidov behind Celebrini on my list all year, with Levshunov holding the spot for the majority and Demidov finishing there. There are teams who will make a case for Anton Silayev as the No. 2 prospect, but I was never able to quite get there. Ultimately, Demidov’s individual skill level on the puck (and word from a source that his work ethic was off the charts) sealed it for me. He’s got game-breaking upside that I just don’t think the others quite have — and I love Levshunov’s upside.
This got my attention as the Blackhawks look to make some significant improvements to their roster this summer. I mentioned some buyout buzz in my Tuesday bullets, but Jeff Skinner wasn’t mentioned. Elliott Friedman brought up Skinner later in the day, and that’s a name that I would look quickly. Over the past three seasons in Buffalo, Skinner has scored 92 goals in 233 games and averaged just under 17 minutes per game. He isn’t a big winger (5-11, 200) but has been durable and productive recently. But he has three more years on his contract that carries a $9M cap hit. If bought out, Skinner should be intriguing for the Blackhawks. He’s 32 but would add some top-six scoring to the offense.
Speaking of buyouts, one of the guys who was previously mentioned as a potential candidate was Barclay Goodrow with the Rangers. The 31-year-old assistant captain has three years remaining on a contract with a cap hit of $3,641,667. And, on Tuesday afternoon, he was placed on waivers by the Rangers as they look to make cap space. He had a poor season but he’s a guy who’s at least interesting as a post-buyout signing option for the Blackhawks.
To be clear: I am not advocating the Blackhawks claim Goodrow. I don’t like the number or the term. But if he’s bought out, a short-term deal to improve the bottom six intrigues me. He’s a grinder who plays hard and has postseason success on his resume.
Frank Seravalli at Daily Faceoff updated his top 75 free agent big board with word that Vancouver is going to target Jake Guentzel this summer. The Blackhawks had previously been linked to Guentzel as an option, but he — like Skinner — is on the wrong side of 30. If the Canucks went big game hunting this summer, it would likely mean other big changes to the roster, which Seravalli outlined:
While there is a need and desire, there are also some cap gymnastics required in order to make it a reality in Vancouver. They will need to say goodbye to Elias Lindholm and likely also Dakota Joshua, dump Ilya Mikheyev in a trade, then need to find a way to make the money work on their back end with Filip Hronek, Nikita Zadorov and Tyler Myers. It won’t be easy.
Once again, sign me up for Dakota Joshua in Chicago. He’s the kind of grinder the Blackhawks should target this summer.
While we’re on the subject of the Canucks, one of the guys Seravalli mentioned got the bad after his piece published on Tuesday. Filip Hronek got an 8-year contract with a cap hit of $7.25M. He’s been really good for them since he was acquired from Detroit (why trade a guy like him?) and now he’s locked in long-term.
I’ve got a couple non-hockey related posts to close with today. The first has to do with the sad passing of Willie Mays. He was a remarkable trailblazer who missed time to serve his country, and was without question the greatest living player until last night. His accomplishments on the diamond are remarkable. I shared this last night. My son was 11 when he played in Cooperstown a couple years ago and he had a list of the greatest players in history with whose plaques he wanted to take pictures. This was the first one he visited. RIP 24.
(clears throat, tries to find his best Rock impression)… Finally, the Brett HAS COME BACK to Chicagooooooo!!! And he announced last night at the end of this brief motivational speech to Cubs fans that we are proud to announce Old Style as the *the Official Beer of Bleacher Nation!*
NEWSLETTER
