We’re only one more week away from September, which means we’re that much closer to a month in which there will be Blackhawks hockey. On Sunday, we got a late-August weekend edition of a “32 Thoughts” column from Elliotte Friedman, which was lovely. He was at the NHL/NHLPA European Media Tour and checked in with comments from a number of players, including Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrázek.
Mrázek said he stayed in Chicago for two reasons: “They gave me the chance to get back on track (from) my injuries, get healthy. I want to be part of the rebuild, hopefully part of something special.” Also, Jimmy Waite. “Great goalie coach. Best I’ve had in the NHL.”
Also, apparently Mrázek is a watch guy and has been talking timepieces with Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno and Seth Jones. According to Friedman’s piece, Mrázek owns 20-25 watches, which is impressive. When asked about Connor Bedard’s watch game? “There is none. He hasn’t started yet.” Pause. “He will though.”
A couple other notes from Friedman as we roll into the rest of our bullets:
- On NHL expansion: “It’s coming — and the union believes that as well — but [NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly] was very careful not to be pinned down.”
- Teams Friedman lists as having been interested in Yaroslav Askarov: Colorado, Montreal, New Jersey, Utah and, of course, San Jose. He added (Probably more.)
- Friedman reports the Oilers’ offer to Philip Broberg — based on analysis comparing him to Justin Barron and Kevin Bahl — was $1.1M per. The Blues are going to pay him $4,580,917 per for two years. So either the Oilers’ analytics are garbage, the Blues are massively overpaying, or… both?
- One final note, something that might be interesting considering the relatively affordable depth in places like Chicago at forward: “I think there are things percolating out there, including Toronto considering left-wing options.” Hmm…
- Corey Pronman at The Athletic has started his organizational pipeline rankings. He ranks all of the talent under the age of 23, so Bedard and others who may have graduated from various prospect rankings will be included. Which means we should expect the Blackhawks to be fairly high on the list. Thus far, they have revealed Nos. 25-32. Here’s how the bottom of the league ranks:
- New York Islanders
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Vancouver Canucks
- Boston Bruins
- Edmonton Oilers
- Colorado Avalanche
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- It would be more comforting if more teams in the Blackhawks’ division than just the Avalanche were near the bottom. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone that teams that are consistently going for it and drafting (usually) in the lower half of the round over the past decade aren’t stocked full of good young talent. It does suck to be the Islanders, though.
- We’re getting closer to training camp, which means we can start talking in more real terms about lineup construction and roster battles. We’re not quite there yet, but I dusted off the ol’ question hat and wondered out loud where Lukas Reichel fits into the Blackhawks’ forward group this year.
- The Los Angeles Kings signed a goaltender this weekend. And for a very low cap hit. That’s neat.
- Finally, when we start talking about the Blackhawks’ lineup between the start of the regular season and the final day of the year, there will undoubtedly be some changes. If a prospect shows he’s ready to be a difference maker consistently in the NHL, the front office and coaches have said they’ll find a way to make room for them in the room. So we’re going to be watching for young guys like Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Wyatt Kaiser and Ethan Del Mastro to make a lot of noise and earn a promotion.
- Well, the Cubs’ first-round pick from this summer is doing precisely that. And he’s getting moved up the ladder already. Absolutely love to see it!