Big Prospect Buzz, Blackhawks Take Over Wrigley, More Kane Trade Talk, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

We’ve officially reached the part of the offseason where hockey media is desperate for something to talk about. Which means the two superstar franchise icons in Chicago will continue to get mentions from folks who think one of them might be the missing piece for a championship run. It’s going to be a long fall, folks.

  • Lots of prospect chatter on Wednesday morning for Blackhawks fans. Corey Pronman at The Athletic is updating his league-wide organizational rankings this week. We found out this morning that he has the Blackhawks at 13th overall in the NHL.
  • The move to 13 is a significant jump for the Blackhawks; he had them 22nd in the league last year. So clearly people are noticing the injection of talent/skill from the first year of Kyle Davidson’s work as the general manager.
  • From Davidson’s first draft class, Pronman has Frank Nazar (2), Kevin Korchinski (3), Ryan Greene (6) and Sam Rinzel (9) in his top 15 overall for the Blackhawks.
  • Pronman isn’t the only person considering the Blackhawks’ top prospects today. We also updated our top 20 prospect rankings for the organization now that we’ve had a full World Junior Championship tournament to consider. The guys at the WJC made a good impression, but how did it help their stock in our eyes?
  • And not to be left out, Charlie Roumeliotis at NBC Sports Chicago offered a nice profile on Wyatt Kaiser, who looked really good both at the Blackhawks’ development camp and at the World Juniors.
  • If you didn’t see the first game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, former Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios handled the first pitch and Seventh Inning Stretch duties.
  • And during the nightcap, we had the privilege of listening to Pat Foley on the mic once again. He was in the Cubs’ radio booth for a few innings before moving over into the television booth in the fourth. It was tremendously tremendous!
  • In the “Desperate for Training Camps to Open” department, Bleacher Report decided to have a round table to discuss where Patrick Kane could/should be traded. Their options? The Rangers, Sabres and Maple Leafs.
  • If we’re brutally honest, the Rangers and Leafs would both need a third team to get involved because neither has the cap space to make a deal for Kane even at 50 percent retained salary. And Davidson has shown a desire to move players for picks over players (at least if we use the trades of Marc-André Fleury, Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat as models).
  • The Sabres are intriguing because they have cap space and three picks in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft and their own first rounder. But would Kane still be interested in playing for his childhood team after the issues he had in Buffalo earlier in his career?
  • At least the Rangers have their first and second rounders in each of the next two years’ drafts to work with. The Leafs don’t have a second-round pick in 2023 or 2025, so they would likely be held up for first-rounders (which they need to restock their farm system).
  • The Chicago Steel has become a powerhouse in the USHL, producing elite players who have gone on to be top picks in the NHL Draft (see Owen Power) and some potential future stars (see Adam Fantilli). A report on Tuesday indicates their head coach, Brock Sheahan, is leaving the team but not Chicago. He’s reportedly headed to Rosemont to take over the Chicago Wolves, who are the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate.
  • You might recall a report we shared back in June that the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox were considering having a team(s)-owned television network in the not-too-distant future. Well, some news out of Washington DC could be a precursor to a framework we could see in Chicago.
  • Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Capitals and Wizards (and tthe Capital One Arena where they both play) as well as the Washington Mystics and other properties, announced they are acquiring NBC Sports Washington on Tuesday.
  • According to the release, Monumental is buying out NBC Universal’s 67 percent stake in the network. The network is the exclusive home of Capitals and Wizards games, which makes this a transaction to keep an eye on regarding the future of NBC Sports Chicago.
  • Hockey Canada continues to struggle with image problems in the wake of the sexual assault allegations being reported recently. A number of national sponsors have backed away from the organization, and it sounds like Hockey Canada is struggling to earn their dollars — and trust — back.
  • Unfortunately, Foley didn’t see nearly as good of a performance at Wrigley last night as Chelios did earlier in the day. But we did get to see Franmil Reyes throwing straight gas late in the game, which is fun. 90 on the gun? Let’s go!
  • written by

    Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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