NEWSLETTER
Welcome back from the weekend. Hope you enjoyed it.
The NHL summer continues on as we march through tumbleweed season toward training camps. One item remained on the Blackhawks’ offseason checklist, and that is a new contract for restricted free agent Alexander Nylander.
Well, now we’re done…
• Nylander and the Blackhawks came to an agreement today, signing the 23-year-old to a one-year deal.
RFA Alexander Nylander signs a one-year deal with the #Blackhawks for $874,125
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) August 16, 2021
• With Nylander’s new deal done, the Blackhawks are pretty much set now for the 2021-22 season. Although Tyler Johnson, Jujhar Khaira, and Jake McCabe all need their new numbers still…
I’m just a boy, standing in front of the @NHLBlackhawks, asking them what number Jake McCabe is wearing this year…
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) August 16, 2021
• I may or may not have watched “Notting Hill” recently.
• Speaking of asking for news, the group over at The Athletic conducted their annual Fan Survey of Blackhawks fans and received over 2,500 responses. You can read the full results of the 30-question survey here, I highly recommend it…
The results are in: More than 2,500 of you answered our 30-question survey about the Blackhawks.
And from an on-ice perspective, things are looking up: https://t.co/O00FA4VoEd
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) August 16, 2021
• A couple of takeaways from the survey include the expectations of the team this season, the grades and confidence in Blackhawks management and coaching staff, and the comfort level of the fans returning to the United Center, among many other topics. The survey did not ask about any off-ice topics with the Blackhawks, specifically the lawsuits and allegations against the team currently.
• Fans think the team is on the right track, responding favorably with a 78.7% “Yes” vote. Following the summer that Chicago has had, I’m zero-percent surprised the image of the franchise has turned around. Fans also gave the team mostly “B” and “A” grades for the offseason moves as a whole.
• Stan Bowman and Jeremy Colliton received mixed-confidence votes, mostly fans feel “so-so” about their work as President of Hockey Operations/General Manager and Head Coach.
• Over 80% of fans responded saying that they expect the Blackhawks to at least make the playoffs this season, with a small portion of those fans thinking the team should be contending for the Stanley Cup. Although, only 21.9% of fans think that the Blackhawks will win another Stanley Cup before the Toews and Kane era of Blackhawks hockey ends.
• The major trades to acquire Seth Jones, Tyler Johnson, and Marc-André Fleury went over very well with most Blackhawks fans, while the Duncan Keith trade was also viewed favorably by the Chicago fanbase.
• The final questions and answers that stood out the most to me were the high number of respondents that felt the Blackhawks should require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to attend games at the United Center. Two-thirds of respondents said they would feel comfortable coming back to full capacity games next season, with 74.4% of fans responding saying the team should require proof of vaccination. We have seen that the league has sent out a memo to clubs that employees with close contact to personnel and players will require vaccinations, and the NHLPA has corresponded with players to urge them to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before this season. So far, the Blackhawks have not made any announcements regarding requiring vaccinations for employees, players, or fans, yet.
• A Happy Blackhawks Birthday today to Eddie Olczyk!
Happy 55th Birthday to #Blackhawks legend and broadcaster Eddie Olczyk! pic.twitter.com/oIsM90wSWD
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) August 16, 2021
• Turning 55-years-old today, Olczyk played the most games of his 16-year career with the Blackhawks, skating in 322 games with 209 points, book-ending his career in Chicago. He’s been a part of the team’s TV broadcast since the 2006-07 season, as well as the NBC National top broadcast team over that same timeframe. Edzo is heading to TNT, now that the NHL has partnered with Turner Sports and ESPN, to serve in the same role on the top TV broadcast team along with Kenny Albert. He will also continue to work alongside Pat Foley on Blackhawks broadcasts this season, which will be Foley’s last in the TV booth.
• Also celebrating his 65th birthday today is former NHLer and long-time league insider Bob McKenzie!
Happy 65th birthday to the illustrious @TSNBobMcKenzie! pic.twitter.com/MncySSNKfV
— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) August 16, 2021
• What do you think is the over/under for Margs for “Bobby Margarita” today? I say 4.5.
• I’m not sure what is on the birthday celebration dinner menu for Olczyk or McKenzie, but for Mathieu Joseph of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he celebrated his day with the Stanley Cup in Canadian style with a giant portion of poutine out of the Cup itself…
https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/1427024211432939527?s=20
• It may look gross, but I’m certain that was the best tasting poutine of Joseph’s life! Not gonna lie, I want some poutine and fries now.
• Speaking of celebrations, Rikard Rakell got married this offseason in Sweden and he broke out a brand new talent at his reception…
No big deal, @RickyRakell93 learned to play the saxophone in secret for years just for this moment at his recent wedding in Sweden.
(Courtesy https://t.co/pNAfjeqCpF) pic.twitter.com/phGJ7AVI5a
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) August 15, 2021
• Honestly, that’s pretty badass.
• Speaking of badasses, the U.S. Women’s Hockey team is currently preparing for the IIHF Women’s World Championships starting later this week in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ahead of the tournament, the Women’s team and USA Hockey reached a new one-year contract. You can read more about it here from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan…
News: Quietly, the U.S. women's hockey team reached a new one-year contract with USA Hockey.
This is the followup deal to the women's historic four-year deal (and battle for equitable treatment) in 2017.
Here are some details from the agreement⬇️ https://t.co/dEnH607HAD
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) August 15, 2021
• According to Kaplan, USA Hockey and the Women’s team agreed to a one-year contract to wait out the coronavirus pandemic and see what the economic picture looks like this time next year. The deal will also cover the women for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and expires at the end of August in 2022.
• It has been over 850 days since the last major Women’s International tournament. The IIHF World Championships begin on Friday. Cannot wait to see the U.S. Women dominating the ice once again.
• Reminder, send in your questions for today’s Monday Mailbag post coming later this afternoon!
New Monday Mailbag coming later today! Send in your #Blackhawks questions or any other questions you have using #BNHawksMailbag
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) August 16, 2021
• That will do it for today. Enjoy your Monday!
