NEWSLETTER
I know Eli took a moment to say something on behalf of Bulls fans in his bullets yesterday, but I thought is was also necessary and appropriate to say something in this space.
NBC Sports Chicago, and its previous versions/names/associations, has been the home of Blackhawks hockey in Chicago since Rocky Wirtz assumed control of the team and put the team back on local television. For nearly two decades, if you’ve wanted to watch the Blackhawks, the majority of the time it’s been on NBC Sports Chicago. They gave us Pat and Edzo. They presented some of the iconic moments in franchise history. They covered the parades that came after three championships. And they did it with a smile and a sense of humor, even when things went south hard the last couple years.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have worked with folks from the earliest days of the network, going back to appearing on Chicago Tribune Live and, a couple times, appearing on their pregame show from inside the United Center before playoff games. While we don’t yet know how many of the folks at the network will carry over to the new channel, it will be odd to have to find the number for the home of the Blackhawks this season because they’ve only ever been in one spot since they came back to television.
To everyone at NBC Sports Chicago, for your tireless efforts in presenting the Blackhawks (and Bulls and White Sox and Cubs) over the years, thank you. A job well done indeed.
- We got a “team” picture of the group attending the NHLPA Rookie Showcase right now. As we noted previously, the Blackhawks were represented by Frank Nazar and Artyom Levshunov.
- And we saw Nazar looking good on Upper Deck’s Instagram story last night as well. Note: this is our first look at the new Fanatics-produced Blackhawks sweater with the Circa Sports logo on the chest on a player in full gear. What do you think?
- On Wednesday, The Athletic shared the results of their annual fan survey. This had more to do with macro NHL issues than anything team-specific, and the results to a number of questions were interesting to me. I’ll share a few and then my thoughts below:
- Are you a fan of the NHL’s “hard” salary cap system?
61.4% said Yes
- Should the NHL tweak LTIR rules?
83.6% said Yes
- Should the NHL adopt a 3-2-1 points system?
(3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for a win in OT/shootout, 1 point for a loss in OT/shootout and 0 points for a loss in regulation)
78.7% said Yes
- Would you support further NHL expansion?
63.3% said No
- My Thoughts: I’ll start with the biggest one, the 3-2-1 system. I would like it. I think anything that puts more emphasis on regulation wins would help avoid the meaningless final five minutes of regulation between teams scrapping for a single point in a playoff chase. So that would be first on my list of to-dos.
- Regarding the LTIR rules, I do think teams are taking advantage of it but there’s a case for its existence. If a player with a significant salary cap hit is missing, it’s a good player who needs to be replaced. I have a bigger issue with teams trading for contracts of “retired” players (Shea Weber, Brent Seabrook) to meet their obligations (either via LTIR or getting to the floor).
- I know the cap system hurts, but it’s up to the GMs to do a decent job of not only managing it, but also drafting and developing constantly. So I prefer the NHL’s cap system to the farce that is the NBA’s “cap” and don’t get me started on MLB’s matrix of destiny I MEAN “luxury tax.”
- Finally, if the NHL is going to expand I would prefer they add one team for each division. That doesn’t mean one team is new in each division; there might need to be some realignment. But let’s not have two divisions with more teams than the other two.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced they’ll be wearing their retro goathead jerseys 15 times in the coming season, and the Blackhawks will get a look at them as a late Christmas gift on Dec. 27.
- While we’re in Buffalo, shoutout to Jessica Pegula — daughter of the owners of the Sabres and Bills — for making the US Open semifinals. She upset the No. 1 player in the world last night in dominant fashion. Will she get a championship before either of her parents’ teams?
- Utah announced their broadcast team for the coming season and there’s one familiar name to Chicagoans. Love this for Nick Olczyk.
- Remember when Blackhawks fans were legit angry that Dominik Kubalik wasn’t coming back?
- Here’s a new one: the Ottawa Senators are sponsoring a golfer. I mean… sure. Why not?
- Finally, did you see the Cubs threw a combined no-hitter last night against the Pirates? If not… what have you been doing?
