NEWSLETTER
The more we hear about the Chicago Blackhawks and Seth Jones being tied together in trade talks, the more inevitable it seems that in some way, Jones will be traded to Chicago. I’ve been around long enough to see these things happen many times where the rumors swirl for so long and in the same places long enough, and then *poof* the deal happens. We’ll see how everything plays out, but it is starting to feel like a matter of time to me.
Also, just wanted to give you all an update on my trip. Texas is hot and sticky, and the barbecue sauce getting caught in my beard doesn’t help. I’m loving the amount of live music there is when I’m out at night. So far, so good for Day One.
• Speaking of Texas, that’s where Seth Jones is from.
• Yesterday in The Athletic’s first offseason NHL trade big board, they listed the Blackhawks as the front-runner to land Seth Jones in a trade.
The Blackhawks May Already Be the “Front-Runner” for Seth Joneshttps://t.co/v9cgjTSHe7 pic.twitter.com/9vWyVcOQqL
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) July 15, 2021
• The biggest hang-up to me in the potential deal is that the Blue Jackets are reportedly not looking to acquire picks in the deal, but rather young players and primarily young centermen. You can put two-and-two together to figure out that Columbus is likely after Kirby Dach from the Blackhawks. I don’t like it.
• I’m not saying that Dach is the better player than Jones, but there is no way, in my eyes, that losing Dach and other top-tier young players for Jones gives the Blackhawks the net-gain they need in this kind of trade (to say nothing of long-term planning and financial flexibility). They need a defenseman that can be their No. 1 guy, but if the price for Jones includes Dach, color me wary of making that deal.
• The Blackhawks are not likely to make any kind of deal before July 21st, though. This is according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, who gave us a number of Blackhawks nuggets yesterday.
What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks’ offseason https://t.co/03GDD4ldpZ
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 15, 2021
• One of which was the possibility of Max Shalunov, the biggest “will he or won’t he” of all Blackhawks prospects in my lifetime, could be traded. (If you want to still call him a prospect at 28-years-old, soon to be 29.)
• Powers reports that the Blackhawks and Shalunov have agreed to give the former 2011 fourth-round pick permission to find an NHL team to potentially trade his draft rights with. It’s not an inevitability that he will get traded, as Shalunov says he still wants to come to the NHL with the Blackhawks, but there may not be room for him any longer in the organization.
• One player that the Blackhawks could always make room for if a top-six centerman who can win faceoffs, kill penalties, and chip-in offensively. A player like Phillip Danault. On the latest Insider Trading from TSN, Pierre LeBrun reports that the top center from the Montreal Canadiens is likely to hit free agency this summer.
INSIDER TRADING: #TSNHockey Insiders discuss…
– Fallout from Habs losing Weber
– Why #NHL will weigh in on Weber and LTI
– Danault likely going to free agency
– Latest on Leafs/Hyman
– Update on Jones/#CBJ
– VGK cap crunch
– Oilers/Mike SmithWATCH 🌍: https://t.co/35Pyugtm5T pic.twitter.com/fAo1pUr2He
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) July 15, 2021
• Coming off a three-year, $3.083M AAV deal with the Canadiens, Danault will have no trouble finding a home in free agency. If the price was right, though, it would be an amazing reunion if Chicago were able to bring him back and give him that top centerman role. It likely won’t happen, but he is a played that would make the Blackhawks viable again in a very tough Central Division. Something to keep an eye on.
• Also updated yesterday, TSN’s Rick Westhead reporting new developments in the lawsuits against the Blackhawks and former video coach Brad Aldrich.
Update: After the Blackhawks asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former player who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a former Hawks coach, a judge has given the plaintiff until July 23 to respond to the dismissal motion.
The Hawks will have until Aug 13 to reply. https://t.co/GpdC8dfJhT— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) July 15, 2021
• This isn’t much as far as juicy legal process information goes, but it gives us a potential timeline for how long we may have to wait to see this all play out. It appears, unless there are major developments on either side of the case, that we are in for a long summer.
• Not to pile on the glum, but other new developments from the tragic accident that killed Matiss Kivlenieks make the evolving story sound incredibly heroic on the part of Kivlenieks. This from his teammate Elvis Merzlikins, who was at the Fourth of July party with Kivlenieks.
Merzlikins admits that Matiss Kivlenieks saved him, his wife and the baby they are expecting. They were 20-30 feet behind him. God. Heartbreaking. #CBJ
— Mark Scheig (@markscheig) July 15, 2021
• Dude…
"He saved my son, he saved my wife and he saved me. … He died as hero."
Elvis Merzlikins at the memorial service for Matiss Kivlenieks. Kivlenieks died after he was struck in the chest by a fireworks mortar shell on July 4. pic.twitter.com/69C09ggG67
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 15, 2021
• What more can you say?
• Changing gears. It appears the Stanley Cup is as good as new…
Ready for my celebration tour. pic.twitter.com/OlQX7VUXME
— The Stanley Cup (@StanleyCup) July 15, 2021
• After being damaged and rented to hell during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s boat parade celebration, the Cup is back in the right shape and ready for its summer tour with the Lightning organization.
• This would have originally been in the “Blackhawks section” of the bullets, but now it is in the “around the league” section. I don’t like it. A Happy 38th Birthday to…now former Blackhawks defenseman…Duncan Keith.
Happy 38th Birthday to Duncan Keith. I miss you already #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/OinPpjGhwu
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) July 16, 2021
• 😭
• I’ll leave you with a hopefully comforting moment of zen from Stephen Johns…
📍Lake Blanche, UT #MentalMiles pic.twitter.com/5j4hV3FqFe
— Stephen Johns (@stjohns28) July 16, 2021
• That is a beautiful scene.
• That will do it for today. Hope ya’ll enjoy your Friday!
• Hey look at that, I’m already getting used to Texas.
