Fan-Filled Practice, Stalock Update, Dach Scores, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
Maybe it was just because the kids didn’t have school on Presidents Day. Maybe it was because the weather was nice. And… maybe it’s because the trade deadline is in less than two weeks and we this might have been their last chance to see Patrick Kane up close. No matter the reason(s), there was a fun, pretty full house to watch the Hawks practice at Fifth Third Arena yesterday.
- There were a few good updates for the Blackhawks in the tank standings overnight. San Jose and Philadelphia both won their games and Anaheim added a point via an overtime loss. So the bottom continues to be more crowded with movement every day.
- Alex Stalock spoke with the media for a while on Monday. And it was another very honest, sincere update from the goaltender who has been on IR for a while with a vision issue that is a symptom of his concussions. He really wants to be out there and is usually so upbeat that his obvious frustration and emotions are pretty tough. Stalock said he hopes to join the team at some point in the near future. He skated on Monday.
- Ben Pope put together a nice story on Stalock’s conversation with the media and updating his health status. In it he shares another comment from Stalock that, as someone who has dealt with his share of concussions, hit close to home.
“There’s a lot of ‘Whys,’ ” he said. ‘Why do I feel like this?’ ‘What’s going on?’ You want answers. And going through it, talking to different guys that have had [concussions], everybody’s got a different story . . . [of] how it happened and the way they feel. And you just wish you could be out there, and you can’t.”
- With Vegas visiting the United Center tonight, and being a team that is potentially hunting for some significant additions before the trade deadline, it was absolutely noteworthy that the Golden Knights put Mark Stone on LTIR on Monday. They now have enough cap space to be one of the bigger players on the trade market.
- Colton Dach joined the incredibly dangerous Seattle Thunderbirds’ lineup over the weekend and picked up an assist. Well, on Monday afternoon he scored his first goal since being traded to Seattle — and since returning from the shoulder injury that ended his World Juniors.
- Finally, the Bulls have shut down Lonzo Ball of the rest of the season. I keep him out there as a cautionary tale of spending money wisely when you can, because the Bulls simply haven’t been the same without him in the lineup the last couple seasons.
