Jack Eichel spent his time with the Stanley Cup this weekend. These are always fun pictures and videos to watch to see how a player decides to celebrate the peak of his hockey life. I can only imagine how much it meant to Eichel, who started his professional journey being the biggest disappointment in Buffalo history (because they didn’t get Connor McDavid).
I appreciated this thoughtful column from Ben Pope on Saturday that makes an effort to answer a question I have also been asked about a thousand times this summer. If the Hawks want leadership, they had it in 19 and 88. So why make changes?
The answer is complicated, but at least in Davidson’s thought process, it largely boiled down to one conclusion: Toews and Kane provided, albeit at no fault of their own, too much leadership.
I love the idea of having veterans who know how to establish the right culture in the room surrounding young players like Connor Bedard and Lukas Reichel. It’s one thing to lead by example with a great, other-worldly work ethic the way Bedard has on his path to the NHL. It’s another to know how to be a pro. How to be an NHL player for an entire 82-game season is something that everyone has to learn. Having good veterans there to take young guys under their wing makes a lot of sense, and takes some of the work off the coaches so they can coach more than big brother (though Denis Savard felt like the perfect guy for Toews and Kane when they were rookies).
But that’s the thing: there’s establishing a culture, and there’s being assimilated into the room the way things have been done for almost 20 years. Would I have preferred that Toews and/or Kane called their shot to end their career? Sure. But do I also understand the why behind the front office moving on? Sure. It’s awkward and unfortunate. But good — in this case, great — things come to an end. And at some point soon, both of their sweaters will be in the rafters.
The Blackhawks were featured in an Original Six Sunday edition of today.
Blackhawks prospect Paul Ludwinski was named the MVP of the Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday.
Since there isn’t much hockey on the ice right now, this slow-mo of a ridiculous trick shot is worth watching a few times. Still trying to figure out how he did it… and if the goaltender was able to stand up after he pulled it off.
When the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired forward Tanner Jeannot, it was pretty obvious they HAD to get him signed this summer. After all, the Bolts paid picks in the third, fourth and fifth rounds in the 2023 NHL Draft, a second round pick in 2024 and a first round pick in 2025. And defenseman Cal Foote. So that’s five picks and a prospect for a guy who didn’t have a contract beyond the season. Thankfully the Lightning were able to get a two-year deal done on Saturday.
Finally, I love everything about Marcus Stroman. He had some pretty open comments about his future in Chicago — or elsewhere — and opened up about how close he thinks the Cubs could be to making a step up in the National League. We’ve talked about it with Max Domi over the past year; even if he’s traded I would love to see him back.
