Well, here we are – it’s deadline day. In a matter of hours, we’ll finally have some long-awaited answers. Will Marc-André Fleury be here in tomorrow? Who skated their final game in a Blackhawks sweater on Sunday night? What will Kyle Davidson’s war chest of future assets look like heading into the offseason? For now, let’s start with last night’s 6-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the United Center.
• Derek King trotted all of his starters out on Sunday night with no orders from Davidson to withhold anyone for asset protection during their meeting with the Jets. Marc-André Fleury started between the pipes, and it didn’t go well for the 37-year-old netminder.
https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1505706550199033859?s=20&t=WWMULcYF6feRl3OzR7jZJg
• Fleury allowed five goals on the night, with four coming in the second period after the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead over the Jets. This was a game to forget, and it was a sour way for Marc-André Fleury’s tenure in Chicago to come to a close if indeed that ends up the case, but honestly, the game doesn’t matter much in the way of the box score. That’s a reality that Blackhawks fans need to come to terms with.
• Let’s talk about the new guys; that’s what will matter for the next few years. Taylor Raddysh spoke to the media before Sunday evening’s contest with the Jets and sounded genuinely excited to have a fresh opportunity with the Blackhawks. This team will give him a more significant role than what he saw this season with Tampa Bay.
“I’m excited to be here and to get a good opportunity to play and show myself and be able to prove myself.”—new Blackhawks forward Taylor Raddysh on getting traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning pic.twitter.com/AfRX5AiwZV
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) March 20, 2022
• Raddysh found himself on the second line tonight with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalík. He took advantage of the shot given to him by interim head coach Derek King, logging a primary assist on Jonathan Toews’ second-period goal and then a goal of his own, his first in a Blackhawks sweater in the third period for his third multi-point game of the season (and his first with the Blackhawks).
• In 53 games with Tampa Bay, Raddysh logged just 12 points (five goals, seven assists) due to a limited role on a stacked roster (he played 20 or more shifts in only five games with Tampa Bay). Meanwhile, he’s logged 20 shifts in his first two contests with the Blackhawks right off the bat. The 24-year-old former second-rounder will have an excellent opportunity to make a name for himself over the next couple of seasons in Chicago.
First of (hopefully) many as a member of the #Blackhawks for Taylor Raddysh pic.twitter.com/5NoU8NuclG
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) March 21, 2022
• Raddysh’s goal was excellent for two reasons; 1) it came on the power play, with Raddysh already seeing time on the Blackhawks’ top man-advantage unit in his first two games, and 2) he blew it by Connor Hellebuyck right down the middle, a place that I’ve seen him spend a bunch of time patrolling in his first two games with the Blackhawks this weekend.
• If you were wondering, Alex DeBrincat referred to Raddysh as “Raddy” on Sunday, so now we have his hockey nickname for future reference.
• Boris Katchouk didn’t log a point on Sunday, but he was plenty involved playing on the third line for Derek King and the Hawks. Katchouk led the Blackhawks with two shots on goal in the first period and finished the night with three shots and a fight.
Dubois and Katchouk get into it and head to the box. pic.twitter.com/OnzcbGqG8Q
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 21, 2022
• Katchouk spoke to the media after the game and admitted that stepping onto the ice and wearing a Blackhawks logo “is kind of weird,” especially after starting his career with the two-time reigning Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning:
“Just stepping on the ice and wearing the Blackhawk logo is kind of weird, but it’s going to be cool, for sure.”—Boris Katchouk pic.twitter.com/RFYl9Goe2j
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) March 21, 2022
• Rookie Alex Vlasic was in the lineup on Sunday again and saw limited ice time as Derek King slow-rolls Vlasic, who was playing collegiate hockey a week ago. Expect Vlasic’s role to continue to grow as we work our way through the season’s final month.
• The Blackhawks got the point in the moral victories column on Sunday night after giving up four goals to the Jets in the second period. They could have easily mailed it in, but they fought and trimmed the Winnipeg lead to just one goal with two minutes to play. Derek King spoke on the potential of losing buy-in from players after the trade deadline shakeup:
“You can. I haven’t heard any mumblings but we’ll see as this week goes on. After Monday, I’ll address them about it.”
—Derek King on whether the Brandon Hagel trade risks buy-in in the locker room pic.twitter.com/NGZFMyZlkY
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) March 20, 2022
• King insists that he hasn’t heard any chatter about it in the locker room, but we’ll see what happens after the dust settles this afternoon.
• The latest on Marc-André Fleury this morning:
The belief that Marc-André Fleury will be heading to Minnesota in a trade is growing this evening. #Blackhawks https://t.co/zB9ggbUQN6
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) March 20, 2022
• All right, let’s buckle up and hope we see some action between now and the 2:00 pm (ct) trade deadline!
