NEWSLETTER
It took a bit longer than most other NHL teams for the Blackhawks to announce the new numbers for their newest players acquired this summer, outside of the Jones brothers and Marc-André Fleury. But finally on Thursday, we got the new numbers for Jujhar Khaira, Tyler Johnson, and Jake McCabe.
• Khaira keeps his No. 16 from when he was in Edmonton, Johnson multiplies his No. 9 from Tampa Bay by ten to get No. 90, and McCabe, who has worn Nos. 19, 4, and 29 in his Junior/NHL career (all taken in Chicago), will wear No. 6.
https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/1428433878289690627?s=20
• Even if he doesn’t have a familiar number, McCabe is still liking the new number and is excited to get the season started!
10/13 can’t come soon enough! https://t.co/pbpF6AlTlp
— Jake McCabe (@McCabe19) August 19, 2021
• What some may have missed with the announcement yesterday, was that the above photo was “take two” for the Blackhawks’ social media team. As you see in the screenshot from MLP here, take one didn’t go so well…
Everyone saw it @NHLBlackhawks. pic.twitter.com/9egRv3SrnJ
— MLP (@Pappy_Hour) August 19, 2021
• When I say “facepalm” or use the 🤦🏻♂️ emoji, I rarely actually hit my face with my palm. This was one of those rare times. All this just a few hours after I wrote in yesterday’s bullets that The Blackhawks had one of the best offseasons in the NHL (from a roster construction standpoint, of course).
• In case you missed it yesterday, EA Sports revealed their first trailer for the latest installment of their NHL franchise with NHL22. In the reveal, we saw that Auston Matthews will be the cover athlete and we caught a glimpse of newest Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones in the trailer. Jones also posted more of himself in the game on his Instagram story…
Jones posted more on his Instagram story (@seth_jones3) #Blackhawks #NHL22 pic.twitter.com/CyHzvFh1aq
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) August 19, 2021
• Looks good to me. But EA didn’t have to do this to Blackhawks fans…
https://twitter.com/artemiypanarin/status/1428569849618472968?s=20
• Panarin sniping on Chicago in Madison Square Garden…not cool. Panarin was rumored to be the cover athlete for NHL22, but ultimately EA went with Matthews for the second time in three years.
• Maybe not being on the cover is a blessing in disguise for Panarin and the Rangers. This feels almost as bad as the “Madden Curse” for EA…
If you take it a step further, only one EA NHL cover athlete in the past 25 years has seen his team improve its standing in the year he appeared on the cover.
(0 means miss playoffs, 5 means wins Cup) pic.twitter.com/TBoI3lRR7U
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 19, 2021
• But hey, it’s cool that Patrick Kane was the exception in 2010!
• In Rockford IceHogs news, the team has signed Kale Howarth for the 2021-22 season.
Welcome Kale: We have signed @UConnMHOC standout @KaleHowarth15 for the 2021-22 season!
Story: https://t.co/3bROtgjnER pic.twitter.com/AUyPO9MVGn
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) August 19, 2021
• Howarth, a Red Deer, Alberta-native has plenty of connections to the Blackhawks organization and will get to play with some of his hockey buds with the IceHogs this season…
A Red Deer, AB, native, @KaleHowarth15 has close connections with @ReeseJohnson98 and @Bhags9 and also grew up/skated with & against @IanMitch15. #Blackhawks #IceHogs
— Joseph Zakrzewski (@JoeyZRadio) August 19, 2021
• Yesterday it was announced that the City of Glendale would be opting-out of their lease agreement with Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Coyotes have been in Arizona (Phoenix and Glendale) since the 1996-97 season after the NHL relocated and renamed the original Winnipeg Jets.
• But while the city will not be renewing the Coyotes’ lease after the 2021-22 season, there is still some hope for the Coyotes to stay in Arizona, somewhere…
The @ArizonaCoyotes statement on Glendale kicking them out of arena after this season. pic.twitter.com/q1n2dBZrXS
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 19, 2021
• The Coyotes are set to play in the Central Division this season after spending the last 22 seasons in the Pacific Division.
• I have an idea for the Coyotes and the for the league…
Hear me out:
– Coyotes relocate to Quebec City
– Detroit relocates back to the Central Division— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) August 19, 2021
• Quinton Lucas, the Mayor of Kansas City, also has an idea for the Coyotes…
#NHLtoKC time
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) August 20, 2021
• It seems like a longshot for the Coyotes to stay in Arizona for the long-term, but there is a dedicated fanbase for the team in the desert, even if it is not the largest in the league. This will be an interesting story to follow as the season progresses.
• This morning, the reign of the King ended. Henrik Lundqvist, one of the best goaltenders in the world over the last 20 years, called it a career after 15 NHL seasons.
— Henrik Lundqvist (@hlundqvist35) August 20, 2021
• Lundqvist only played for the New York Rangers after all, since he missed all of last season due to a heart condition and surgery after he was slated to play for the Washington Capitals. The Rangers announced today that they will be retiring Lundqvist’s No. 30 some time this season…
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) August 20, 2021
• Speaking of retirements in New York, Rick Jeanneret will be calling his final season of Buffalo Sabres hockey this year.
Longtime Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret says the upcoming season — his 51st in the booth — will be his last.
"RJ" made the announcement in a Twitter post this morning. He will end his career as the longest-tenured announcer in NHL history.https://t.co/KGg6REv6se
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) August 20, 2021
• A broadcasting legend in Buffalo and in the NHL, Jeanneret will not get to call a Stanley Cup championship for the Sabres (I feel very confident making that prediction) and he deserved a better send off. One thing he also won’t be able to call in his final year of broadcasting the team is the rookie season of 2021 first-overall pick Owen Power.
Breaking: Sabres No. 1 draft pick Owen Power is returning to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, a source told The Buffalo News. @umichhockey https://t.co/6elVLOuJWG
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) August 19, 2021
• Power will be returning to the University of Michigan for his second year of NCAA hockey after being taken first-overall by Buffalo this summer. I don’t blame him. Playing and dominating at Michigan while also getting another chance to represent Canada at the World Junior Championships (set to take place in Canada this winter) sounds like a lot more fun than playing as a rookie in Buffalo this year.
• Maybe this is part of why Jack Eichel, who just joined Twitter, decided to make his second tweet ever just an annoyed emoji face…
https://twitter.com/jackeichel/status/1428423786085429248?s=20
• At this point, maybe even Eichel would take another year playing in the NCAA (if he could) over playing in Buffalo.
• Speaking of winning the Stanley Cup, the food tour of the Tampa Bay Lightning continues with Cedric Paquette giving poutine its second appearance in the Cup in the last week. But unlike Mathieu Joseph’s traditional poutine, Paquette went with a shrimp poutine…
On tonight’s episode of Cooking with Stanley: @Paquette18 & shrimp poutine. 🍽 pic.twitter.com/pQpr4nqEPV
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 19, 2021
• Not my style, but hey, what ever floats your poutine boat. Or rather poutine Cup.
• Finally, today is the opening of the IIHF Women’s World Championships taking place in Alberta, Canada.
https://twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/1428733863585533954?s=20
• The U.S., favorites to extend their five-straight Gold Medals at the tournament into a sixth, take on Switzerland tonight in their first preliminary round game at 8:30 p.m. CT. The game can be found on NHL Network.
• That will do it for today. Enjoy your TGIF Friday!
