NEWSLETTER
We are going to have much more on Jonathan Toews surprise return to the Blackhawks (and our lives) later this morning, but in case you missed the announcement: He’s back.
And I really needed that, because … man, it’s a weird time to be a Blackhawks fan.
• Speaking of …
We stand in solidarity with the former @NHLBlackhawks players who were reportedly assaulted by former video coach Bradley Aldrich and call for a full and transparent investigation into these allegations. https://t.co/ozPBAcNBMH
— TIME'S UP (@TIMESUPNOW) June 29, 2021
• “Time’s Up” is a non-profit that advocates for victims of sexual violence. They are calling for the results of the independent review of the Blackhawks to be made public by the team and the league. Something NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was non-committal on during his pre-Stanley Cup Final press conference.
• The investigations, reporting, legal process, etc. All of this will be continuing through this summer until, hopefully, there is a just and right outcome from the findings surrounding the alleged incidents in 2010 in solving former video coach Brad Aldrich and two former Blackhawks players, along with the chain of events that followed Aldrich after his time with the Blackhawks was over.
• Last night was the NHL Awards ceremony, handing out the last of the major regular season awards form the shortened 2021 NHL season. The Blackhawks didn’t do so well, as you would’ve expected.
#Blackhawks awards recap: 0#NHLAwards
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 30, 2021
• Not even Kevin Lankinen got any love for the Calder Trophy or the All-Rookie team.
Presenting the 2020-21 NHL All-Rookie Team:
Alex Nedeljkovic of the @Canes
K’Andre Miller of the @NYRangers
Ty Smith of the @NJDevils
Kirill Kaprizov of the @mnwild
Josh Norris of the @Senators
Jason Robertson of the @DallasStars#NHLAwards #NHLStats: https://t.co/5Nc2BQfKHh pic.twitter.com/V4agjgIkaO— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 30, 2021
• Patrick Kane was held off of the first and second NHL All-Star teams, as well.
Presenting the 2020-21 @NHL First All-Star Team, with career First Team selections in parentheses:
Andrei Vasilevskiy (2)
Adam Fox (1)
Cale Makar (1)
Connor McDavid (4)
Mitchell Marner (1)
Brad Marchand (2)#NHLAwards #NHLStats: https://t.co/ZGRminqH61 pic.twitter.com/aGMIDvP4wU— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 30, 2021
• The Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year was nearly unanimous, with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov getting 99 of 100 first-place votes.
The 2021 Calder Memorial Trophy goes to Kirill Kaprizov as the League's top first-year player! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/iQlRSFVA48
— NHL (@NHL) June 29, 2021
• While he ended up splitting time in net during the Golden Knights’ run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marc-Andre Fleury won his first-ever Vezina Trophy at the age of 36-year-old.
Congratulations to first-time winner of the prestigious Vezina Trophy, Marc-Andre Fleury! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/Fw7N2Gvkea
— NHL (@NHL) June 29, 2021
• Fluery’s backup in Vegas, Robin Lehner, showed his fellow netminder some love last night on social media, with a chirp of Fleury’s agent Allan Walsh thrown in for a good chuckle.
https://twitter.com/RobinLehner/status/1410058851718598660?s=20
• I miss Robin.
• The Norris Trophy for Best Defenseman of the Year was a hotly debated award this season, but when it came down to it, New York Ranger young blue-liner Adam Fox was named the winner for the 2020-21 season.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy goes to first-time winner, Adam Fox (@foxyclean), after a fantastic 2020-21 campaign! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/Uh7tDD5miD
— NHL (@NHL) June 29, 2021
• Finally, in the least surprisingly outcome of the night, Connor McDavid became the second-ever unanimous Hart Trophy winner as League MVP, receiving all 100 first-place votes.
This year's winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, the player most valuable to his team during the regular season, is Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97)! #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/Yw2VFT2Akl
— NHL (@NHL) June 29, 2021
• McDavid joins Wayne Gretzky as the only two unanimous Hart Trophy winners in league history. Gretzky received all 63 votes back in the 1981-82 season when he scored 212 points with the Edmonton Oilers.
• With Leon Draisaitl’s Hart Trophy win last season and McDavid’s this season, the Oilers are the first team with different Hart winners in consecutive seasons since the Boston Bruins in 1968-69 and 1969-70 with Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.
• Finally, what is the end of a Blackhawks Bullets post these days without checking in on former Blackhawks defenseman Stephen Johns during his #MentalMiles cross-country rollerblading journey?
Montana❤️ #MentalMiles pic.twitter.com/In6bfu3Fji
— Stephen Johns (@stjohns28) June 30, 2021
• Not going to lie, kind of jealous.
• That will do it for today. Enjoy your Wednesday!
