Guttman’s Out, Coaching Credit, Seth Likes Pickleball, Pi Day, and Other Blackhawks Bullets
The Blackhawks got some bad news and shared some non-news on the injury front on Monday. Cole Guttman‘s season is over because of a shoulder injury that will require surgery. And there is no new update on captain Jonathan Toews, who is still trying to get his body right so he can get back on the ice.
- The Blackhawks called up forwards Mike Hardman and Billy Robinson on Monday morning. The Guttman injury makes some sense of bringing up two forwards, but we were still wondering about the status of forward Anders Bjork… and we still haven’t seen anything from Austin Wagner since he was acquired from the LA Kings. Richardson spoke about those two players after practice on Monday as well.
- If you’ve visited this site more than once this season you’ve probably read me praising head coach Luke Richardson. In every imaginable way he’s been the perfect fit for this Chicago Blackhawks team. He knew what he was getting into when he took the job and, through the highs and lows and significant departures, he’s been the same guy the entire season. So when I saw this conversation from the guys on the Blackhawks Talk podcast I smiled because more people need to consider the job he’s done this year. This isn’t about him being the Jack Adams winner, but the Blackhawks have competed almost every night this season without the horses to win many games.
- When the Blackhawks announced they had signed a forward from Notre Dame yesterday, I thought it was going to be Landon Slaggert. That still might happen, but Chicago announced Ryder Rolston has signed his entry-level contract (beginning next season). Ryder’s father, Brian, played in 1,254 regular season games. And I remembered a big trade that he was a part of 23 years ago.
- Seth Jones got the feature treatment from Chicago Magazine on Monday. And apparently he’s a pickleball guy. Who knew?
“I’ve gotten into pickleball the last few years, along with everyone else. I have a pickleball court at the house [in Dallas], so when it’s not 115 degrees in the summer, I play with Caleb. The matches get pretty intense. Paddles get thrown. You know how it is with your brothers.”
- It’s been almost one full year since the Blackhawks’ new front office traded Brandon Hagel to the Tampa Bay Lightning. When the trade happened, it was billed as “Hagel gets the Hawks two first-round picks.” The two players — Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk — were throw-ins… right? Well, Raddysh is maybe the Blackhawks’ best offensive player (who’s left) and has a great chance of finishing the season the team’s leading scorer. I looked at how he’s been such a tremendous value for the team earlier this morning.
- Happy Pi Day to those who celebrate! Here’s your Bad for Bedard Sweepstakes standings update before the Blackhawks host the historically-good Boston Bruins tonight.
- The Bears got BUSY yesterday in free agency. I’ll say this a million times here and on other social platforms: Luis is the man. If you aren’t following his coverage of our NFL team you’re missing out. Yesterday was crazy for him and our team nailed it.
- Finally, I’ve been a huge Javy Báez since he arrived in Chicago (don’t ask my family about my collection of cards/bobbleheads). So when he pulled off another ridiculous swim move at the World Baseball Classic on Monday it made me smile.
