Thursday brought a full NHL schedule release, and that means the countdown to hockey season is officially on. The wait still stretches to September, but with the season starting earlier this year, there’s a little less time to sit around and stare at the calendar.
For the Blackhawks, one of the bigger items on the board was the release of their 2026-27 schedule yesterday. More on some of the league’s biggest dates will come later today, but the schedule drop was the headline item for Chicago on a busy day around the NHL.
There was also a little Patrick Kane intrigue in the mix. Chris Chelios said he got inside information on where Kane is going to play next season, and the source was Kane himself. Jake Rivard also weighed in, arguing that Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks should do whatever it takes to bring Kane back.
Elsewhere on the Blackhawks side, Maya Smith continued the site’s “What If?” week by looking at what Chicago would look like right now if the team had never traded for defenseman Bowen Byram. Josh Prost also closed out the day by examining two popular Rockford IceHogs players who earned NHL contracts this summer.
One date from Blackhawks history also stood out: on this date in 2023, Connor Bedard turned 18 and signed his entry-level contract with Chicago. Since then, he’s put up 75 goals and 203 points in his first 219 NHL games. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll mark his 21st birthday later today by signing a contract extension.
The July 17 birthday list also includes Jason Strudwick and Bedard.
Around the league, former Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach landed a new deal with the Montreal Canadiens. The contract is for one year and carries a $3.6 million price tag. Dach has missed 150 games over his three seasons in Montreal, so the next step is simple enough: he has to show he can stay on the ice before any long-term deal comes into play.
Connor McMichael also got paid, signing a six-year, $40.5 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.
He was acquired from the Washington Capitals last month in the Jordan Kyrou trade. McMichael scored 14 goals and 46 points last season, following a 26-goal campaign in 2024-25.
In Philadelphia, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere spoke to the media Thursday after Trevor Zegras signed a four-year extension. The press conference also gave Briere a chance to address the Leo Carlsson offer sheet publicly for the first time, and he made it clear the Flyers wanted the message to land around the league and in their own room:
"It was noticed around the league. What I hope, too, is that it’s noticed by our fans and by our players that we’re serious.
The players did their part last year. We’re trying to do ours.
We’re going to keep trying to improve the team to give them the best chance to be a contender for years to come."
EA Sports also offered a preview of NHL 27, highlighting a bigger push toward authentic atmospheres. The video included “Chelsea Dagger” and showed Frank Nazar’s 6-7 goal celebration.
In Other News...
What Really Helped Convince Connor Bedard The Blackhawks Are Serious
The Blackhawks have spent plenty of time trying to show Connor Bedard that the rebuild is moving in the right direction, and the latest move appears to have mattered in a meaningful way. Chicagos trade for Bowen Byram added another young, high-end piece to a roster that still needs a lot of work, but it also sent a message to Bedard that the front office is not just talking about patience and long-term planning.
For a player of Bedards stature, those signals matter, especially when contract decisions can hinge on whether a team looks committed to building something real around him. The Byram addition is believed to have played a role in Bedards recent extension, and it gives the Blackhawks a little more credibility as they try to turn the next phase of the rebuild into something more than promise. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Face A Season Defining Test Before This Year Can Begin
The Blackhawks spent the offseason talking like a team ready to move out of the leagues basement and into the playoff conversation, but the first month will say plenty about whether that optimism is real. Chicago has raised its expectations for the coming season after years near the bottom, and the opening schedule does not offer much breathing room for a team trying to prove it belongs in the race.
The challenge is even sharper because the lineup will be missing Connor Bedard as he works back from shoulder surgery, leaving the Blackhawks to navigate a brutal early slate without their top driver. Their first 18 games are loaded with playoff-caliber opponents, including a heavy dose of last years postseason teams and a pair of meetings with the reigning champions, so the stretch ahead looks less like a warmup and more like an early referendum on how far this group has really come. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Suddenly Face A Tough Teuvo Teravainen Decision
Teuvo Teravainens second season back in Chicago did not go the way anyone around the Blackhawks likely envisioned when he returned as a familiar piece for a rebuilding roster. After putting up 58 points in his first year back, he settled at 35 this season as the lineup around him changed, and the influx of younger talent pushed him into more of a bottom-six role than the one he had occupied before.
Even with stretches alongside Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar early on, the offense never really followed, and analysts wound up grading Teravainen below average for his work. That leaves the Blackhawks with a tricky evaluation as they look ahead, because a player who was supposed to help stabilize the attack now finds himself in a far less certain place within the roster picture. [Read more 🡒]