Bedard’s Historic Night, Babcock Back? Bad Cap News (For Other Teams), and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Jun 04, 2023

The Vegas Golden Knights always put on a great show on their home ice. After the pregame theatrics, a tight game was blown open in the third period. Zach Whitecloud scored the game-winner seven minutes into the final stanza and Vegas added two more to make the final score 5-2. Jack Eichel picked up two assists in the game, helping his case for the Conn Smythe. But one of the big stories was the penalty minutes piled up by Florida. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett both got the showers early and they were joined by Radko Gudas in the final two minutes. We’ll see if the Panthers can settle down and steal a game on Monday night in Game 2 of the Final.

The Panthers finished the game with 46 penalty minutes, the 6th most ever in Game 1 of a #StanleyCupFinal. 😬#NHL | #Panthers https://t.co/F9eqSun935
— Hockey Reference (@hockey_ref) June 4, 2023

Yes, I actually did wonder this. And now I have an answer.

Ever wonder how many beers it takes to fill the Cup? 🍻 pic.twitter.com/xOTTk9CHzR
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 2, 2023

Tonight, the Blackhawks’ three prospects and their Seattle Thunderbirds teammates will face Quebec in the championship game of the Memorial Cup. The game will air at 6 PM CT on NHL Network. Colton Dach scored the game-winning goal for Seattle in the semifinal game on Friday night. Dach, Nolan Allan and Kevin Korchinski have all had a strong tournament.

Sunday's #MemorialCup final is set for 7pm ET / 4pm PT!

Nous connaissons maintenant les équipes qui vont s’affronter en finale!

📺 TSN 1/3/4/5 | RDS | NHL Network pic.twitter.com/sse1OBCcaR— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 3, 2023

History for Connor Bedard! Hopefully I get to write that a lot in the coming years. On Saturday night, Bedard became the first player in history to take home the CHL’s Top Prospect Award, the Top Scorer Award, and the David Branch Player of the Year Award.

After a 71-goal and 143-point season, the David Branch CHL Player of the Year Award, presented by @KiaCanada, goes to Connor Bedard of the @WHLPats! #CHLAwards pic.twitter.com/jlUpOqaq3z— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 3, 2023

Hold up, Mike Babcock is coming back? And in… Columbus?? Apparently this is going to be a thing, but not until early July. Pierre LeBrun reported later on Saturday afternoon that the Leafs still owe money Babcock through June 30, so the Blue Jackets will make the hiring official after the last check from Toronto clears.

Speculation around the Memorial Cup is Mike Babcock will return to the NHL as @BlueJacketsNHL new coach and the delay in announcing coincides with his existing contract with the Maple Leafs expiring the end of this month. https://t.co/OUlxBRS8bq— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 3, 2023

Speaking of coming back, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about former Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman during his annual State of the League media session prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday. He confirmed they’re still banned, but meetings will happen with each independently after the Final concludes.

Gary Bettman said Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman have each independently requested meetings with him and those will be scheduled after the Stanley Cup Final. He said he has to see what they have to say.— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 3, 2023

Bettman also apparently crushed the idea of the salary cap going up more than $1 million this summer, which is tough news for players hitting the free agent market but potentially great news for teams like the Blackhawks who have cap space to leverage in adding more assets.

Bettman pours cold water on the idea the salary cap could rise more than $1M this summer.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 3, 2023

It sounds like they’re still working on figuring out a World Cup of Hockey post-pandemic. The commissioner said the league and players are talking about it again.

Bettman says the league met with the NHLPA a couple of weeks ago regarding World Cup of Hockey. Says it’s a priority for both sides to bring it back again— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 3, 2023

Oh, and this:

Gary Bettman confirms the Stanley Cup will not be visiting Russia this summer.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) June 3, 2023

The league confirmed what David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported a couple weeks ago: back-to-back days with Stadium Series games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The @NHL announced the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL #Stadium Series will take place at MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Football Giants.

Feb. 17: @NHLFlyers vs @NJDevils
Feb. 18: @NYRangers vs @NYIslanders

Details: https://t.co/xB1sloP6AY pic.twitter.com/D6JqHRB0mn— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 3, 2023

This is the kind of Stanley Cup Final “bet” I can get behind. We usually see the mayors of the two cities bet each other the obligatory “things that represent our city” packages. But this is really more of a partnership to help military families. The winner picks the cause. Good stuff, Vegas and Florida. Well done, indeed.

VGK Owner Bill Foley has partnered with @FlaPanthers Owner Vincent Viola to donate $100,000 to military families following the 2023 #StanleyCup Final. The owner of the winning team will choose a Veterans Service Organization to accept the donation. 😊🇺🇸https://t.co/aPKkYUBfIf— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 3, 2023

Finally, the Cubs brought Miguel Amaya back up on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Justin Steele went on the IL, but we’re hoping he only misses a start or two.

Cubs Roster Moves: Steele to the IL, Amaya Called Uphttps://t.co/gdx495dW3j pic.twitter.com/Fl5KjyV6jH
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 3, 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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Bedard’s Historic Night, Babcock Back? Bad Cap News (For Other Teams), and Other Blackhawks Bullets

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