Hey! We actually get some NHL conference final action tonight! So much for a half week off so the NBA can own our televisions, eh? As a reminder, Turner will air the Eastern Conference Final and Disney (ESPN/ABC) will handle the Western Conference Final. Thursday night’s action begins in Carolina where the Canes will look to hold home ice against the 8-seed Florida Panthers. Who ya got?
My predictions for the conference finals are now public, so feel free to judge me.
The Seattle Thunderbirds won Game 4 of their WHL championship series against Winnipeg last night on home ice. Kevin Korchinski scored a goal in the first period (below) of the 4-2 win. The boys can clinch a spot in the Memorial Cup on Friday night in Seattle.
Korchinski talked to TSN during the second intermission.
If you didn’t get a chance to check out our series this week discussing the Blackhawks possibly moving up from No. 19 overall in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft, we had three pieces looking at elements of a trade up.
PART I: The cost of moving up
PART II: Potential trade partners
PART III: Prospects the Blackhawks might target
Blackhawks director of amateur scouting Mike Doneghey is making the rounds right now; we already grabbed a couple interesting nuggets from his podcast appearance with NBC Chicago earlier this week. He also spoke with Scott Powers of The Athletic and there was one specific response he had to a question from Powers about the 19th overall pick that got my attention.
When you look at your options with the 19th pick, what sort of value do you see there?
Well, I think I’ve gone on record as saying, after eight or nine, the board could go crazy just based on defensemen because it’s not really a strong defensemen year, per se. So, if there’s three or four defensemen that fall in that range, it could leave a player or two down at 19 that could benefit us.
The way Doneghey frames this answer is interesting because he’s essentially eliminating defensemen from the Blackhawks’ consideration set in the first round. That isn’t a huge surprise; the Blackhawks have a strong pipeline of defensemen coming, headlined by Chicago’s first picks in the last two drafts (Korchinski and Nolan Allan). But most of the young defensemen in the system are lefties; a case could be made for the Blackhawks to look for a RHD at some point in this draft. And my guess is they will. But, based on this response, it isn’t likely to be in the first round.
The fallout from Tuesday night’s vote in Arizona continues to rattle the NHL. The Coyotes are still reportedly considering their options to stay put — well, at least somewhere in Arizona. The team sent a letter to their season ticket holders that indicates they’re making efforts in that regard. But there are also plenty of reports that interested parties are going to start circling the NHL waiting for the signal that a move is possible to start making their relocation bids.
One of the markets that has long been interested in bringing in an NHL franchise is Kansas City. If the NHL wants to keep the Coyotes a) in the Western Conference, and b) move them somewhere that geographically works to keep them in the Central Division, KC would certainly check those boxes. My guy David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period noted that the Hunt family, owners of the Chiefs, have interest. Which added a little fuel to the eyebrows raising when superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes II tweeted about getting the Coyotes to KC last night.
Mahomes has already bought interests in the Kansas City Royals (MLB), Sporting KC (MLS) and the Kansas City Current (NWSL). He’s putting down roots and establishing himself as a legit Kansas City staple. So when he tweets an interest in something like this… Maybe he can make a call to Ryan Reynolds and get the Deadpool actor to jump on board now that his bid for the Ottawa Senators is over?
The NHLPA had some news on Wednesday. Former defenseman Ron Hainsey, who appeared in more than 1,100 NHL games between 2002 and 2020, has continued to grow his influence in the union and is now the Assistant Executive Director.
One of the job openings that intrigues me the most this offseason is Anaheim, which already has some nice young players and will make the second overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft (read: add Adam Fantilli to their roster). It appears former Blackhawks Andrew Brunette, who was a finalist for the Jack Adams after taking over mid-season for Joel Quenneville in Florida last year, is in the mix.
Finally, Seiya Suzuki went yard twice last night in Houston. The Cubs are struggling right now so let’s focus on the positives, shall we?