More Tkachuk Heroics, Benn Suspended, Bedard’s High Expectations, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

May 25, 2023

Congratulations to the Florida Panthers for winning the Eastern Conference championship last night. Let’s not take anything away from the performance of the Carolina Hurricanes. This was as close as a four-game series could be. Carolina lost four games by one goal each, two in overtime and the finale with four seconds left in regulation. Absolutely heart-breaking. But the Panthers are for real, they’re in it and they’re going to be trouble for Vegas or Dallas (let’s be honest: Vegas). A special shoutout to Blackhawks legends Anthony Duclair and Gustav Forsling for making it to the Final. And to the big time game-winner himself, Matthew Tkachuk, for becoming the first player in his family to make the Cup Final.

The 8-Seed Florida Panthers Are Eastern Conference Championshttps://t.co/576YyJO4p7 pic.twitter.com/bM2XaOPYAW
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 25, 2023

This legitimately blew my mind. The team that won the Presidents Trophy with the league’s best record last year made the enormous trade to bring in Matthew Tkachuk last summer and, for most of the regular season, people were mocking their GM, Bill Zito, for saying they believed this would be a better “playoff team” this year. Well… he’s right. But it wasn’t an easy path to the postseason by any means.

Mind-boggling stat from the NHL: The Panthers were in a playoff spot for only 28% of the regular season (54 of 190 days). They are the only team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to reach the Final after spending less than 30% of the season in a playoff spot.— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) May 25, 2023

Jaccob Slavin said after the game he was okay and believed this hit from Sam Bennett was legal (it was; I agree). But this was a scary moment early in the game that changed a lot for Carolina. Slavin is arguably the best defensive defenseman in the entire NHL and he obviously did not return the game.

Sam Bennett with a hit behind the net on Jaccob Slavin

Slavin was escorted to the locker room by a trainer pic.twitter.com/qEaKDK52EL— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2023

A Western Conference champion could be crowned tonight in Dallas. The Vegas Golden Knights take their 3-0 series lead into a game that will undoubtedly be as heated at Game 3, but without the Stars’ captain available. We’ll see if the visitors can celebrate on Dallas’ ice.

After the Game 3 debacle, two Stars forwards heard from the Dept. of Player Safety. Former Blackhawk Max Domi was fined $5,000 for slashing Mark Stone.

Dallas’ Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Slashing against Vegas’ Mark Stone.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 24, 2023

And Jamie Benn, Dallas’ captain, was suspended for Game 4 (and 5 if it gets there) for his ridiculously dangerous attack of Stone earlier in the game.

Dallas’ Jamie Benn has been suspended for two games for Cross-checking against Vegas’ Mark Stone. https://t.co/YBf8qihuCh
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 24, 2023

On Wednesday, NBCSN Chicago asked if Connor Bedard can join some exclusive company as a point-per-game player as a rookie in the NHL. That’s a big ask; they point out that only five players have accomplished that mark in the last 27 seasons. What do you think?

Can Connor Bedard be a point-per-game player with #Blackhawks as rookie? https://t.co/Vwlcz8U5lf
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) May 24, 2023

The NHL named the three finalists for the league’s GM of the Year award on Wednesday. Not many big surprises here: Jim Nill of the Stars, Bill Zito of the Panthers and Don Sweeney of the record-setting (but first-round eliminated) Bruins are your finalists.

Jim Nill (@DallasStars), Don Sweeney (@NHLBruins) and Bill Zito (@FlaPanthers) are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Details: https://t.co/WMtwkf7NHz #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/MRuBTuKAt7— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 24, 2023

Mark Lazerus of The Athletic hasn’t been shy about his feelings about tanking (he hates it), but even he noted that Kyle Davidson has stuck to his plan and, thus far — with a little luck in the lottery — he’s done a pretty remarkable job of executing it. Whether the Blackhawks finished last or third-to-last (as they did), they were going to need the lottery to give them some fortune. What Davidson has done since taking over is pretty impressive, and it’s how to accelerate a rebuild plan.

Say what you will about Davidson's plan — and I said a LOT about it — he had one, he executed it, and for the most part, it's worked.— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 24, 2023

The Buffalo Sabres somewhat quietly announced they have re-signed captain Kyle Okposo to a one-year, $2.5 million deal for next season. Nice deal for both sides.

THE CAPTAIN IS BACK‼️

We have re-signed Kyle Okposo to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million.

Details: https://t.co/I5tLdoR6yU pic.twitter.com/EVRdOplPQu— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 24, 2023

This situation is a mess, but thankfully the Cubs have already done the right thing and broken their ties to the player.

Updating for the report that Josefrailin Alcántara had been previously suspended by the Cubs, and has since been released. So he is now a former Cubs prospect. https://t.co/2K5KRP8cy3— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 25, 2023

written by

Tab Bamford

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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