NEWSLETTER
I wanted to start this morning with a couple comments about the Blackhawks trading Isaak Phillips to Winnipeg yesterday. The Blackhawks selected Phillips in the fifth round (No. 141) of the 2020 NHL Draft. He was admittedly rushed into turning pro because the Blackhawks wanted to see him continue to develop and COVID shut down the CHL for a year. Over the four and a half years since then, Phillips has continued to work on his game and develop. Only two players drafted after him have appeared in more than his 56 NHL contests, a testament to his work ethic.
Every time I talked to Phillips while he was with the NHL club, he was truly happy to be there but knew nothing was given. His perspective on earning his role, whether that was in Rockford or Chicago, was refreshing. He’s a solid young man on and off the ice and I hope he gets a shot with the Jets. Him being traded now is a reminder that there are only 6-7 spots for defensemen in the NHL and the Blackhawks have about 85 defensemen coming right now. There are going to be trades, and young guys a lot of us like are probably going to have to get their NHL shot elsewhere at some point.
Regarding Dmitry Kuzmin, the left-handed defenseman who is coming to Rockford in return. Yes, he’s another left-handed defenseman. So… why does this make sense? For one, Kuzmin has another year of control after this on his contract; Phillips was headed back to RFA this summer after accepting a qualifying offer this past offseason. That’s important, because I think many of us expect Sam Rinzel — a RHD — to join Artyom Levshunov — a RHD — in Rockford next year. With the possibility that Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro — both LHD — eventually move up to the NHL, the Blackhawks could use a left-shooting defenseman in Rockford thru next year.
Throw in that Kuzmin is good friends with Levshunov, who many have tabbed as the most important prospect in the system right now for the future of the rebuild, and this is a really good change-of-scenery trade by the Blackhawks.
- We got some line shuffling at Blackhawks practice on Wednesday before the team — with their dads — flew to Nashville. Remember when interim head coach Anders Sorensen said he wanted to keep the “kid line” of Colton Dach, Frank Nazar and Lukas Reichel together for a while? Well, that’s apparently over. (Looks around the room for the folks who hated Luke Richardson flipping lines every game…)
- Nazar skated some with Connor Bedard in the loss on Monday night and he’ll stay there against the Preds tonight. Nick Foligno is back in the top six with Dach and Reichel, who moves back to center. And we’re right back at the third line that’s been the best and most productive this season. Philipp Kurashev and Wyatt Kaiser look like they’ll be watching with the dads on Thursday night.
- We’ve heard from frustrated Nick Foligno and Connor Bedard throughout this season. We’ve heard from frustrated Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy frequently as well. The guys who were on the struggle bus last year and hoped this season would be an improvement with the incoming veteran additions have been understandably not thrilled with still being at the bottom of the standings. But… what about those veteran additions who were brought in to theoretically help turn a corner into more competitive hockey?
- Really good read from Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday with comments from Pat Maroon, Teuvo Teräväinen and Alec Martinez. To a man, they’re maybe more upset that it isn’t working because they, collectively, were supposed to be the reason the situation in Chicago improved. A couple good quotes from the story (read the whole thing, please):
Said Maroon: “When we play the right way, we see results from it. I just don’t understand why we always fall back on that trap again.”
“We were brought in here for a reason, and [if] we want to win hockey games, we have to lead the way and help mentor . . . while still playing our game,” Martinez said. “It has been an adjustment, but it’s certainly a challenge we’re all willing to accept.”
- Anthony Trudeau at Daily Faceoff put together an interesting list of “unsung heroes” who might make some noise around the trade deadline. Included among the five players named: Ryan Donato, who I wrote about earlier this week. I would love to see him around beyond this season because his work ethic is precisely what you want young players to see and model, but he’s been really good for the Blackhawks and has an affordable contract that expires at the end of the season. Bluntly, he’s an ideal add for a team going for it.
- Here’s what Trudeau wrote about Donato:
Two offseasons ago, the Blackhawks rolled the dice on Donato as a player who at worst was good for 25 down-lineup points and at best could prove he’s a functional top-nine NHLer. In a rare successful veteran signing for Chicago, the latter scenario has played out: Donato has 13 goals and 24 points in 41 games and is set to blow away his career highs in 2024-25.
The Bostonian would be an unconventional depth addition because he relies heavily on scoring, and he wasn’t doing that at a terribly relevant clip before this season. He’s not a penalty killer like or even a particularly adept faceoff taker (45% this season, a career-high). That said, Donato isn’t so one-dimensional that he’s not worth a look for a club in the playoff hunt; he doesn’t shy away from the physical aspect of the game, has decent size, and even has a few fights under his belt in recent seasons.
Donato knows he won’t always enjoy the career-high minutes (14:50 ATOI) and power-play time he’s gotten in the Windy City. In the player’s own words, “[whether] you’re first-line left wing or fourth-line center… it doesn’t really matter. You just have to make the right plays at the right time, be responsible.” With that attitude, Donato’s scoring pop and ability to slide up the lineup in a pinch could make him an asset on a playoff team, even if only on a rental basis.
- Thanks to Anthony for linking back to the piece I wrote about Donato earlier this week. Lots of sites out there just ripping off content these days, so it’s appreciated when someone actually cites work somewhere else.
- I referenced Nick Kypreos’ latest on what he’s hearing on the trade market yesterday when I wrote about Taylor Hall‘s comments about probably not being a Blackhawk beyond the trade deadline. He included Seth Jones in his intriguing names to watch category, saying:
“In the third year of an eight-year contract, Jones is a long shot trade candidate because this won’t be an easy one to get done during the season. But Chicago needs to find a way to move this heavy $9.5 million cap hit.
At full value it would be next to impossible to find a taker, but if someone could convince the Blackhawks to eat 50 per cent of the value, suddenly it’s not such a bad flyer for a competitive team to take on Jones with a $4.75 million cap hit.
This wouldn’t be an outright salary dump, so it would still cost a top asset, or two, if the Hawks are going to keep that much salary for another five years. There’s no doubt this would be a tricky move to get across the finish line, but make no mistake that Chicago would like to move off this contract — and Jones needs a fresh start as well.”
- There has been buzz for a while now that the Penguins were at a tipping point and some drastic changes were going to come. The first surprising move came yesterday, with their expensive supposed-starting goalie placed on waivers.
- Really good read here from Daily Faceoff on how Kyle Dubas’ moves since taking over as the GM in Pittsburgh have mostly backfired like an ’87 Camaro. I hate to say it, but… we’ve seen this script play out in Chicago. And, as we’ve discussed the ends of the careers of the Blackhawks’ dynasty core, Crosby and Malkin are now going thru the same thing.
MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
- MLB’s international signing period opened on Wednesday.
- The fires in Los Angeles caused the NBA to make a change to the Bulls’ upcoming schedule.
