NEWSLETTER
Happy International Margarita Day, Glen Lerner Day, and Happy Jordin Tootoo Day to all of those who celebrate any and all of these holidays today!
The Blackhawks will be off until Friday as they continue their current homestand, where they are still trying to get their first win at the United Center since January 15. They still need to hire a GM and there are four weeks until the NHL Trade Deadline on March 21. Things are going … not well, to put it lightly.
• So let’s have some fun. You get to play Blackhawks GM for the week. Send us your BEST trade offers. The term “BEST” is subjective!
Going to try something fun today –
DM's are open, so send us your BEST 2022 #Blackhawks trade packages!
Could be realistic, could be far fetched, could be down-right silly, doesn't matter. It is silly season after all.
We'll compile the best and go through them this week. pic.twitter.com/cqCvDj9Jac
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 22, 2022
• We’ll go over some of our favorites later this week. This should be a lot of fun.
• In the real trade market, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek has Marc-André Fleury, Dominik Kubalík, Calvin de Haan, and Brandon Hagel on his big board, having added Hagel since his first edition.
The NHL trading deadline is a month away; here's our Trade Board 2.0, adding a few names, subtracting a few others, and of course, we lost No. 21 from the original list, because Tyler Toffoli was moved to Calgary last week: https://t.co/DrkAV7kZU7
— Eric Duhatschek (@eduhatschek) February 21, 2022
• Duhatschek lists Hagel as a “medium” trade possibility, even though many Blackhawks fans want that to not be the case. If Hagel’s asking price from the Blackhawks is met in a trade package, I’m not sure how the team says no.
• Another trade big board to keep an eye on is from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. In his latest edition, Seravalli added Ryan Carpenter to his list, which also includes Fleury, Hagel, Kubalík, and de Haan.
https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1495859134633291777?s=20&t=56tp7WkvMQoSO_AZyxFmKg
• Carpenter is a player for whom contending teams are willing to pay a small fee to have play an unsung role in a postseason run. He likely doesn’t have much of a future in Chicago, so if the Blackhawks could get anything for him as a pending unrestricted free agent, they should go for it.
• 42 years ago at the 1980 Winter Olympics, we believed in Miracles…
https://twitter.com/1980MiracleTeam/status/1496107515905548296?s=20&t=56tp7WkvMQoSO_AZyxFmKg
• Team USA defeated the Soviet Union in their semifinal game at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. A team much like the 2018 and 2022 Olympic squads, the 1980 team was made of all college players. Their win over the Soviet Union, which was considered the greatest hockey powerhouse on the planet at the time, has been called one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
February 22, 1980: “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” #MiracleOnIce pic.twitter.com/bGsvSjlWrV
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) February 22, 2022
• To the U.S., this was a Miracle result. To the Soviets, this was no miracle. It was just another game, unfortunate to lose. I recommend watching the ESPN documentary “Of Miracles and Men” to get the other side of the story, which is just as fascinating as the U.S. side we have all come to romanticize.
• Speaking of Russia, I try not to delve too much into the murky waters of foreign policy, but the situation between the Ukraine and Russia seems to be getting to a point where an international sport like Hockey starts to come into play when thinking about the ramifications of what might happen between the two nations.
• Again, I’m not an expert, but TSN’s Gord Miller laid-out a number of scenarios to keep in mind if there is to be any major conflicts between the nation’s and what the fallout could entail from a Hockey standpoint.
Start with the KHL, where the playoffs are set to start next Monday. One of the top KHL teams is Jokerit, located in Helsinki, but the team and arena are Russian owned. Jokerit is scheduled to play Spartak Moscow, would the Finnish government bar travel to and from Russia? (2/7)
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 21, 2022
This summer, the US will host the Women’s U18 tournament, Canada will host the Hlinka/Gretzky U18 tournament and the World Juniors in August. Since severe travel restrictions to and from Russia are among the sanctions being discussed, would their teams be allowed to play? (4/7)
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 21, 2022
Again, even if the @IIHFHockey doesn’t take steps in the event of a Russian invasion, would a boycott of those two events by the other competing nations be possible? It might not even be in the hands of the hockey federations, national governments could make that call. (6/7)
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 21, 2022
• Keeping in mind that the KHL is considered the second-best Hockey league in the world behind the NHL, the international representation within the league is large. Also, there are a number of top European NHL prospects that play in the KHL. If there were to be boycotts, sanctions, or anything of the sort, how would those players be impacted.
• One thing we have seen develop from KHL club Jokerit, which is part of the Russian league but is based in Helsinki, Finland, is a push from the fans to have the club leave the league.
The fans of Finnish club Jokerit Helsinki demand that the team leaves the Russian KHL. On their website, the fan club doesn't say the reason but they write: "Continuing the games of Jokerit will cause immeasurable damage to the entire club, which may never be repaired again." https://t.co/KkQyn7mtDl
— Szymon Szemberg (@Sz1909_Szemberg) February 22, 2022
• Chicago could be caught-up in anything that may happen in the fallout as they have been reportedly in the mix for upcoming Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko.
Blackhawks Expected To Pursue Top KHL Free Agent Andrei Kuzmenkohttps://t.co/3xhOFFnM0M pic.twitter.com/um8JIefB5D
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 24, 2022
• Again, it’s a difficult and delicate situation. Unfortunately, the Hockey world could get caught in the middle of something that goes WAAAY beyond sports in the grand scheme of things. Just something that is keeping my attention in the corner of my eye.
• Mentioning Ukraine, the IIHF has levied a one-year suspension to Andri Denyskin stemming from his racial taunt towards Jalen Smereck.
BREAKING: The IIHF Disciplinary Board has issued a one-year suspension to Ukraine men’s national team and HC Kremenchuk forward Andri Denyskin.
More at https://t.co/sa52vuQsnF pic.twitter.com/r9srbdQPqy
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 22, 2022
• Gee, only took them five months to come to a decision that only impacts him at the international level.
• Ok, let’s get back to something a bit lighter. How does this image in this screenshot come about you ask?
amazing pic.twitter.com/vWbeGcuFWf
— clarissa! (@quinnsedgework) February 22, 2022
I give you the funniest play of the #Canucks season. ✨ MAGIC ✨ pic.twitter.com/jG8mPLYxfE
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) February 22, 2022
• That’s honestly something I’ve never seen before. Six players battling for a puck that wasn’t there. Amazing.
• This guy…
Aaron Rodgers Dropped a Cryptic IG Post While You Were Sleeping
– https://t.co/DEF3YLM6jU pic.twitter.com/7feIlryoAL— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 22, 2022
• Get over yourself.
• An update on the MLB lockout, which might be good news?
MLB Lockout Day 82: Today’s Meetings Were Very Long, But Were They Actually Productive? – https://t.co/cku8Nodhl1 (via BN)
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) February 22, 2022
• I’m not the biggest baseball fan, but like, having Spring Training is a big sign that winter is coming to an end and warmer days are ahead. It just doesn’t feel the same.
• While the Blackhawks are not going to be fighting for much down the stretch this season, the Bulls will be in a hot postseason race and they will be tested.
Bulls Have the Second Toughest Schedule in the League to Finish Out the Regular Seasonhttps://t.co/mtYPU8pT2M pic.twitter.com/ry3ATsNf8G
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) February 21, 2022
• The NBA is better when Chicago is buzzing. Excited to see what these Bulls can do.
• That will do it for today. Hope you all enjoy your Tuesday!
