It’s a nice date on the calendar, but an especially historic one for the Chicago Blackhawks franchise. On June 9, 2010, the Blackhawks visited the Philadelphia Flyers for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. Four minutes into the first overtime, Brian Campbell kept the puck in the zone and fed Patrick Kane on the wing. The rest is history — even if we still don’t know where the puck ended up.
Kane’s goal ended a 49-year championship drought for the Blackhawks and began a six-year stretch in which the Blackhawks turned over most of the roster around a central core that authored a dynasty. Marian Hossa is already a Hall of Famer from that group, and he’ll likely be joined in the hallowed halls in Toronto by Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and hopefully Brent Seabrook someday. For fans, the night of June 9 changed everything 13 years ago.
In this year’s Stanley Cup Final, we have drama! After Vegas dominated the first two games (by a wide margin, I might add), and then took a 2-1 lead with Matthew Tkachuk in the room for most of the first period after getting blown up by a big hit, it really felt like Florida was going to be on the golf courses for Father’s Day. But Tkachuk returned, scored the game-tying goal in the final three minutes of regulation — because of course he did — and the Panthers won it in overtime. They flipped a switch and looked like the team that rolled through the last couple rounds of the playoffs. Game on!
In Buffalo, it’s work week for the Blackhawks’ front office. GM Kyle Davidson met with the media on Thursday and indicated the club has already spoken with 65-75 players — in 2-3 days! GMKD talked about reaching the salary cap floor (it will be “easy” but the road to the number might be “interesting”) and their approach to the draft.
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) June 8, 2023
Max Domi jumped on the Gram to congratulate Andreas Athanasiou for his two-year deal to stay in Chicago. Could this be an indication he wants back, too? We’ve talked about running it back with Domi before, and I would be here for it. The Blackhawks certainly have holes to fill in their forward lines.
Happy Thursday!
Re-sign Max Domi. Let him be reunited with Andreas Athanasiou. That’s it. Carry on. (ICYMI, Domi posted this on his Instagram story yesterday) #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/5MDAbUUl8E— Brooke (@brooke_lofo) June 8, 2023
The Blackhawks have had a long relationship with Notre Dame, both with prospects playing there and a couple trips to South Bend with the Stanley Cup. News on Thursday that Irish AD Jack Swarbrick will retire is certainly an interesting piece to keep in mind. Right now, the Blackhawks have forward Landon Slaggert playing there — his father is an assistant coach and his younger brother is joining him there for his senior year.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are really going for it this summer. They are reportedly sending Calgary’s third-round pick (No. 80) in this summer’s draft to New Jersey in a sign-and-trade for defenseman Damon Severson, who gets the bag. That’s two defensemen this week added to the Blue Jackets’ lineup.
Damon Severson and NJ are working on a sign and trade to Columbus. 8x$6.25M
Here’s a hot rumor. Things are apparently so bad in Arizona that Shane Doan — once the face of the franchise that drafted his son, Josh, in the second round in 2021 — is leaving to be an assistant GM in Toronto? Look, I know the Leafs are the biggest brand in the league and all of that, but Doan leaving the desert feels like a tough spot for the Coyotes.
News that the Canada Revenue Agency is going after a few former Toronto Blue Jays could have massive implications on NHL teams in Canada being able to attract and retain top talent. According to the story below, the CRA is going after former Blue Jays star Jose Bautista. “[The] CRA has disallowed more than $16 million in total deductions to his income from 2014 to 2017 through contributions to his RCA.” This is absolutely a legal battle that hockey fans will want to watch because it could be a huge issue for the NHL moving forward.
Although the facts differ in their battles with the CRA, they share a common issue that experts say could have a chilling effect on Canadian sports teams’ ability to attract top international athletes: How non-resident high earners can protect their income and mitigate Canada’s high taxes.
Specifically, the tax agency is challenging how much income the players can deduct from their taxes through contributions to a form of pension plan through an employer called a Retirement Compensation Agreement (RCA).
Finally, sometimes the eye test and the emotions of being a fan don’t line up with the numbers. Yeah, that’s a reality for all of us in every sport. But for the Bulls, apparently Zach LaVine is more clutch than many fans give him credit.
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