Morning Chirps brought a little bit of everything Saturday, from Blackhawks notebook items to a pair of NHL updates that could shape the early part of the season.
On the Blackhawks side, Spencer Lazary dug into the future of goaltender Arvid Soderblom and raised the possibility that he could wind up on the trade block. Gail Kauchak focused on a milestone ahead for new Blackhawks defenseman Ian Cole, who will reach a career marker this season. Brooke LoFurno made the case that Roman Kantserov could help lift the Blackhawks’ offense to another level, while Nester Quixtan pointed to what the Blackhawks may have received as a major gift for next year from the Florida Panthers.
The Blackhawks coverage also included a continuation of the Number History series, with a look at numbers 16 through 20.
There was also a date-in-history note tied to Aug. 16.
In 1996, the Blackhawks traded Jeremy Roenick to the Phoenix Coyotes for Alexei Zhamnov, Craig Mills, and a first-round draft pick. Zhamnov went on to post 140 goals and 424 points in 528 games over eight seasons with Chicago, but the move never sat well with a fanbase that loved Roenick and was furious with Bill Wirtz for dealing him.
The Blackhawks’ 2020 playoff run in the Edmonton bubble also got a mention. Chicago beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 to extend that run, with Drake Caggiula and Matthew Highmore scoring in the first period. Vegas pulled within one before Alex DeBrincat sealed it with a late empty-net goal, and Corey Crawford delivered a standout performance with 48 saves in what would be his final win for the Blackhawks.
The birthday roll call for Aug. 16 included Eddie Olczyk.
Around the NHL, Quinn Hughes still has not signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild, even though both sides are believed to want a deal. The expectation around the league has been that Hughes could land a three-year contract, which would line him up to become an unrestricted free agent at the same time as his brother Jack. But Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that multiple sources told him Hughes still intends to extend in Minnesota, even as the shifting market for top-end players has made the process more complicated.
In Florida, Brad Marchand’s season is off to a rough start before it even begins. The Panthers were already dealing with a brutal injury stretch last season that knocked them out of the postseason, and Marchand now will not play in Zdeno Chara’s farewell game next week.
He said he wanted to avoid surgery after dealing with a hip and sports hernia injury last March, but rest did not solve the problem, so he recently had the procedure. George Richards of Florida Hockey Now suggested Marchand could miss up to two months, which would put the start of the season in jeopardy.
Vancouver is dealing with uncertainty of its own. Thatcher Demko, who had hip surgery during the season after an injury limited him to 43 games over the past two years, has been skating and doing work on the ice. Still, Elliotte Friedman reported there is no firm timeline for his return, and his status for the start of training camp remains up in the air.
In Other News...
Connor Bedard Faces A New Test In His Chase For 100
Connor Bedards climb toward the NHLs 100-goal club is getting a fresh layer of difficulty, even as the Blackhawks continue reshaping the roster around him. Chicago has brought in Bowen Byram, Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov, a set of additions that should give Bedard more finishing help and more support in the lineup once he is back on the ice.
The wrinkle is timing. Bedard is expected to miss the start of the 2026-27 season after offseason shoulder surgery, which will slow his push toward a major career milestone and make every scoring stretch more valuable once he returns. He is still 25 goals short of 100, and for a player already carrying so much of Chicagos offensive burden, the question is no longer just whether he gets there, but how quickly the new-look Blackhawks can help him close the gap. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Fans Are Still Waiting For The Connor Bedard Reset
As the NHL offseason keeps moving and training camps start to loom, the Blackhawks are still in the same familiar spot: waiting for Connor Bedard to get back to full speed and rejoin the top line once he is healthy. It is the kind of update that matters in Chicago because everything around the club still orbits Bedard, from lineup plans to the bigger hope that the next step in his development is the one that starts pulling the team forward.
For now, the rest of the league is sorting out its own business, from contract talk in Minnesota to injury uncertainty in Florida, while Chicago keeps looking ahead to a season that will again be judged through Bedards lens. Even the long view is starting to come into focus, with single-game tickets for 2026-27 already on sale, a reminder that the Blackhawks are still selling the future as much as the present while fans wait for the reset everyone expected. [Read more 🡒]