The Athletic shared an interesting piece on Wednesday looking at what the Blackhawks can learn from the Oilers about building a winning team around a “generational talent.” The comps made between Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard have been coming since Bedard was working on his drivers license. The hopes of Blackhawks fans is that it doesn’t take as long for the Blackhawks to ascend the Western Conference as it has the Oilers, who are still trying to win a conference championship with McDavid.
One of the first points made is about franchise stability. The Oilers changed everything when they won the McDavid draft lottery; the Blackhawks appear to be pretty set in their front office and on the bench. I appreciated this paragraph about Chicago’s future stability:
Kyle Davidson has been Chicago’s g♛eneral manager since October 2021. His knowledge of the organization, and his familiarity with the people around him, will be key in the organization’s next three seasons. Head coach Luke Richardson has been in the role for just one season but represents stability in a vital area for a phenom like Bedard.
It is important to keep in mind that Davidson has started to turn over the prospect pool; he’s committed to drafting his players and developing them his way. But the majority of the system now is from Davidson’s two draft classes, which makes Bedard simply the first player to reach the NHL from Davidson’s drafts. And there were some good pieces left from the previous regime — Lukas Reichel, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, Isaak Phillips, Colton Dach, etc — who are taking the next steps in their careers now.
With all of the talk about building around Bedard, what about next summer when there could be some marquee names on the free agent market (Hello, Auston Matthews!) and the Blackhawks will once again have a truckload of cap space available? The Athletic‘s second piece of note from Wednesday looks at what a “Franchise Player” considers when looking at a long-term fit. I think Marian Hossa would be a great salesman for any of the top-tier players considering Chicago as their next — last? — NHL home.
Hossa was one of the former players who spoke at the celebration of live for Rocky Wirtz at the United Center on Wednesday. He said Rocky promised him that, if they traded Hossa’s contract, the Blackhawks would sign him to a one-day deal so he could officially retire as a Blackhawk. And it meant the world to Hossa that, when his 12-year contract expired and it was time to make his retirement official, Rocky kept his word. That was one of a handful of meaningful, emotional anecdotes shared by the speakers in a touching tribute yesterday.
Robert Mastrosimone is indeed an interesting name to watch when previously drafted but unsigned college players can reach unrestricted free agency. He was originally a second-round pick by Detroit in 2019 and played three seasons at Boston University before transferring to Arizona State for this past season. He scored 22 goals with 45 assists in 72 games over his past two seasons between BU and ASU. I note his time at Boston University because he played with both Alex Vlasic and Drew Commesso while he was with the Terriers, so at least two players in the Blackhawks’ pipeline know him fairly well — and the team has likely seen plenty of his tape while watching their own prospects. The 22-year-old left wing played his USHL hockey with the Chicago Steel.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Coyotes confirmed reports that their owner, Alex Meruelo, “has executed a Letter of Intent to purchase a parcel of land located in Mesa, Arizona to be the potential site for a sports arena and entertainment district for the Club.” The Coyotes are trying to build momentum to get their new complex built, but have run into roadblocks at every turn thus far. In the release (linked below), they note the free agent additions they’ve made this summer. This really needs to be settled at some point for the sake of the franchise.
A somewhat interesting trade went down on Wednesday. The Flyers acquired forward Massimo Rizzo and a fifth-round pick from Carolina for David Kase. Rizzo, 22, was a seventh-round pick by Philly back in 2019. In two seasons at Denver, he’s scored 29 goals with 53 assists in 77 games. Kase, 26, has appeared in seven games for the Flyers since he was drafted in 2016.
Finally, I would argue second-guessing managers/coaches is in the running for the No. 2 favorite thing for fans to do (behind cheering for the team but in a close race with claiming the umps/refs are biased). And giving coaches/managers and umps/refs rarely happens when they’re good or (dare I say it) right. So, I appreciated Michael tipping his cap to David Ross yesterday.
