The big news in the hockey world on Sunday was a bit of a stunner less than one week before the 2024 NHL Draft begins. No, it doesn’t have to do with the Blackhawks. But it’s still massive news. Matvei Michkov, the enigmatic forward who some considered the best prospect after Connor Bedard in last year’s draft, is reportedly getting out of his KHL contract to come to North America and join the Philadelphia Flyers.
Pierre LeBrun tweeted JP Barry and Pat Brisson of CAA are representing Michkov, who could be in Philly in a couple weeks once they sort thru the immigration visa process. The Flyers drafted Michkov at No. 7 overall last year in large part because teams believed he would not be available until the 2026-27 season because of contractual obligations with SKA in the KHL. Philly GM Danny Briere believes Michkov could have played in the NHL last year. This is enormous news for the Flyers, who have the biggest piece of their rebuild now coming into the fold two years earlier than anticipated.
I'm told that it looks like Matvei Michkov is leaving SKA and will be joining the Philadelphia Flyers.
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is tonight! The greatest spectacle in sport happens in Florida (and it will overlap with a winner-take-all Game 3 in the Men’s College World Series. What a night! Who ya got? Vote in our Twitter/X Poll!
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 24, 2024
We’ve talked a great deal in this space about the big debate for the Blackhawks at No. 2 overall. But one of the big reasons I keep churning out Mock Draft Roundups is because there are so many variables between 2 and 18 that what the Hawks do with their second pick in the first round is even more interesting. Scott Powers and Corey Pronman at The Athletic broke down eight options for the Blackhawks at No. 18 overall for this morning. It’s a solid read with their thoughts on some names we’ve discussed over the past couple months getting ready for this week’s draft.
David Pagnotta at The Fourth Period updated some rumors on Monday morning before Game 7, beginning with some chatter about Trevor Zegras’ future in Anaheim. Here’s what he had to say about the Zegras market:
At least eight teams have expressed serious interest in Zegras, including the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres, and I believe other clubs have also been in the mix.
Well hello there! As I wrote previously, Zegras would bring excitement with him and his contract isn’t significant in length or dollars, but I don’t think he solves a lot of the Blackhawks’ problems up front. I am fascinated to see what the ultimate acquisition cost would be here.
Pagnotta also wrote this about the Blackhawks:
Chicago is another team I’m keeping my eye on this week. The Blackhawks are looking to add a top-line winger and have a few irons in the fire, beyond interest in Zegras.
While we’re talking trade targets, Shayna Goldman at The Athletic listed the Blackhawks as a potential trade partners for Toronto for Mitch Marner. Again. Because cap space is available and Connor Bedard. We’ll see if Marner actually goes anywhere before the end of next week.
Earlier this past week, Ben Pope tweeted that Reese Johnson expects to head to the UFA market. He shared some expectations for the busy upcoming couple weeks for the Blackhawks. When he breaks down the internal RFAs for the Blackhawks, his assessment of the goalie situation mirrors my own: Jaxson Stauber may not be back if the Hawks want to bring in competition for the No. 2 spot on the NHL depth chart.
The Blackhawks have two busy weeks ahead of them with the NHL awards, draft, free agency and schedule release, plus development camp.
We got a Jonathan Toews moment on the ol’ Youtube this weekend! Matt Kang hit the golf courses in Scottsdale with the greatest captain in Chicago sports history. Check this video out starting around the 14:45 mark… The Captain looks healthy and happy which is awesome. We don’t get to judge his putting, unfortunately, but I’d be willing to bet a dollar he won the day.
Finally, I want this level of hype in a postgame interview from a young Blackhawks player asap. I nominate Frank Nazar to take the lead on the post-Kaner “Let’s gooooo!” train.
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The first round of the draft went well for the Blackhawks. They took RHD Artyom Levshunov at No. 2 and then North Dakota-bound center Sacha Boisvert at No. 18. Both players measured in at 6-2 and bring a lot of...
With the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks have selected center Sacha Boisvert, who will head to North Dakota this fall. https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/1806859114632425970 Sacha Boisvert, C 6-2, 180DOB: March 27, 2006Shoots: Left2023-24 Team: Muskegon (USHL) https://youtu.be/5zTFCK-0OPU?si=PmF_Ak28OluZRMPC Ranked #21 by...
The Chicago Blackhawks made three (3) picks in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft on Friday night. The third selection they made came at a cost; they traded both of the picks they had in the second round...
Lots of Blackhawks fans wanted them to draft Ivan Demidov at No. 2 overall. Some liked Cayden Lindstrom as well. It sounds like the Blackhawks reeeeeaallly wanted more than one player who went inside the top five overall... According to...
The 2024 NHL Draft is upon us, Blackhawks fans! The first round begins on Friday night, and I'm going to bring you every pick and my thoughts on the selections as the young men hear their names called and realize...
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The Los Angeles Kings were rumored to be busy on the phones by Dennis Bernstein earlier on Friday. They made a deal to move down in the 2024 NHL Draft, trading the 21st overall pick to Montreal. The Kings sent...
Let's get into some of the buzz surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks as we get into the 2024 NHL Draft and sprint immediately into free agency on Monday. Emily Kaplan at ESPN wrote an around the league piece on Friday morning....
The Baltimore Orioles (52-30), led by the red-hot Colton Cowser and his three-game homer streak, are -155 favorites to pick up a win over the Texas Rangers (37-45) Saturday at 7:15 PM ET, live from Oriole Park at Camden Yards...
The San Francisco Giants will take the field against the Los Angeles Dodgers (51-32) on Saturday. The game begins at 7:15 PM ET on FOX, with the Giants listed as -129 favorites on the moneyline.Los Angeles will send Tyler Glasnow...
The NBA offseason is in full swing. After the Chicago Bulls completed their controversial Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey swap, several more trades have popped up across the league. The biggest of those deals saw Mikal Bridges moving a town over, as...
The Texas Rangers (37-45) bring a five-game losing streak into a road matchup against the Baltimore Orioles (52-30) at 7:15 PM ET on Saturday.The probable starters are Cade Povich (0-2) for the Orioles and Michael Lorenzen (4-3) for the Rangers.Orioles...
The San Francisco Giants (40-43) have a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers (51-32) on Saturday. The matchup is set to begin at 7:15 PM ET.Tyler Glasnow (8-5) will take the mound for the Dodgers. As of this writing,...
Day 1 of the weekend group chat trip was a great success. I'm looking forward to seeing what shenanigans today will bring us. Sheesh! I thought Bears GM Ryan Poles had a heckuva draft day. In case you missed it,...
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The Arizona Diamondbacks (39-43) stumble into Saturday's matchup with the Oakland Athletics (30-54) looking to break a three-game losing streak. The contest starts at 4:10 PM ET on ARID with the Diamondbacks listed as -181 favorites to right the ship.Arizona's...
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NEWSLETTER
