Mailbag Monday: Which Veterans will matter MOST to the Blackhawks? | CHGO Blackhawks Podcast

Mailbag Monday: Which Veterans will matter MOST to the Blackhawks? | CHGO Blackhawks Podcast

Training camp opens this week. We’ve got three days left in the offseason. It’s mailbag Monday. But first, we talked to our buddy Charlie Romelotus who is at the Tom Kver’s Prospect Showcase. Join us next on CHGO Blackhawks. [Music] Okay. Welcome in to the CHGO Blackhawks podcast. Hope you’re having a great Monday, the final Monday of the NHL offseason. I’m Jay Zawaski with Mario Tiasi. We are going to welcome our buddy Charlotte Romelotus from WGN Radio coming up next. But first, we want to tell you, hit that like button. Make sure you are subscribed to our YouTube page as well. If you’re listening on the podcast, make sure you are following or subscribed on your favorite podcast app and leave us a fivestar review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Once again, you could say bad stuff about us in the review. Just make sure it’s five stars. That’s a good that’s a good deal we can make with our viewers and our listeners. Uh without further ado, let’s go out to my Greek brother who is at the Tom Kver’s Prospect Showcase this weekend. It’s the very handsome Charlie Romelotus. Hello, Charlie. What’s going on? Sorry, really quick. I was sending a bad review for the both of you for making me wait an extra minute. Another one. from his from his many burners. And one more thing, five stars. These guys all and they suck at golf. Oh my gosh. My clock doesn’t work. Yeah, man. So good. It feels so good to be talking hockey. I feel like every time training camp rolls around, it’s like it’s time for me to get back into a routine. Yes, it definitely had This has been We were talking about at the golf outing. This has been the longest off season ever because there’s so little news made. I mean, I know we got some last week, but man, we’re already there. Where was this three, you know, a month ago would have been great, but uh we’re here. The uh Tom Kerver’s prospect showcase was this weekend. The Hawks beat the Blues in overtime, lose to the Wild late in the game. Um but I think Charlie, what we were hoping to see, we saw were the best Hawks prospects appear to be the best players on the ice. Yeah, the big three, especially in the first game with Sam Renzelle, Ardum Lefchesoff, and Oliver Moore. Neither of those three played in the second game, but I thought you saw exactly what you wanted to see out of a players like Renzel and Oliver Moore specifically driving the offense on the back end for the Blackhawks. I mean, Renzel’s vision, his pass, his edge work on the TA Harding goal was just unbelievable. And then Oliver Moore, I felt like throughout the entire game, his speed was so noticeable and he was creating a bunch of chances. One of the things that he’s been trying to work on all summer is finishing those chances. And so, unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do that in the first 60 minutes. But I think you can feel the sense of relief when he finally did it in overtime. And he even acknowledged that that can kind of that sort of confidence can potentially carry over into his training camp. Yeah, I think that that’s what we wanted to see from a lot of these guys, not only like the top guys, but a lot of them that as they go into training camp, maybe they’re not necessarily going to be, you know, first in line for NHL jobs, but just to kind of like get a head start on things as they go into camp. guys like Renzel and Moore and and and Lardis, you want you wanted to see that, but also, you know, from a guy like um you know, Ardum Levchenov be able to kind of like take take a step in and you know, he was had some moments uh both good and bad in that game, but I think as far as like the guys that are going to go into training camp, I think what we saw was collectively like a good uh first first step. Was there a guy that stood out to you in person? I know watching the game there were there were a few uh moments from a number of other of the players, but anyone in person that kind of like struck struck a chord with you. Yeah, the second game specifically, I thought AJ Spellesy was an absolute wrecking ball and it felt like we were highlighting him on the broadcast like every other shift and even in our intro I think we talked about AJ Spellellacy as a guy to watch that could potentially like to wreak havoc and it felt like every single shift he was bulldozing a Minnesota Wild and then it obviously culminated into a fight, a scrum later on that he got penalized for. And so that’s the kind of energy that Chicago needs out of a player like Spely. And what I liked is what I like to hear. I know he didn’t play the third period because of an injury, which doesn’t sound like it’s serious. It’s more precautionary, but Jared Nightingale, the Rockford Ice Hogs head coach, kind of made some Tom Wilson type comparisons with AJ Spousey. And I’m like, man, if he can just be half the player that Tom Wilson is, that could be a potential gamecher for the Blackhawks. that adds a different element that some of the other prospects provide in that pipeline. Yeah, he he spells is an interesting piece because we saw how great he was in the preseason last year kind of out of nowhere, no expectations and then stuck around until the very end. Um I’m wondering, you know, is that a guy they might consider for that CHL AHL uh you know using one of those the 19year-old exemption? I don’t know what you call it, like punching that ticket or whatever you want to say and put him in Rockford because every time I’ve seen him with the Hawk sweater on, he’s looked really good and super noticeable. And like you said, Charlie, a wrecking ball. And it’s something they kind of for all the skill and talent and depth they have prospectwise, there’s not a ton of that power forward type in there. And he he does check that box for them for sure. And one of the things I noticed too from Spely is he is a man among boys. Like he’s not a traditional 19-year-old where it’s like ah he needs to fill out his frame a little bit and get a little stronger. I mean he was very clearly like just bulldozing over Minnesota Wild. Like he is so strong and so it’s not like he he’s physically behind the curve like he’s already there to play NHL type games. It’s more so what’s best for his development on the ice and just getting acclimated. But he doesn’t seem like one of the if anything, he seems like one of those guys that might transition to pro hockey quicker than others because that’s the kind of style that you want to play at the pro level as far as playoff type games where it’s probably hard to do that in the juniors where guys are just it’s more of an offensive league, right? like there aren’t really agitators in those junior leagues and so he honestly might transition far better to the pro level than he is right now in juniors. Yeah, I feel like that’s when you get to the the players that are like that that you feel like can h hang physically then you know everything else just kind of falls in behind them. Um I did want to ask about you know Ardum Lev and you know the the first game like I said uh earlier had some some ups and downs. What did you get from uh from from being there and and seeing his game uh that first game on on Saturday? And uh what did Jared Nightingale have to any any insight on him? Yeah, I I thought he looked a little rusty. Um which was probably to be expected from some of the players like that f the first five minutes in the St. Louis game. I thought everyone looked rusty like they really had a challenge getting their legs going. But for me, I don’t read too much into it because Lefchesov’s the kind of guy that it was weird that he performed far better in the NHL last season than he did Rockford. So, it’s almost like when the games mean something, he performs at a higher level. And so he’s one of those guys where it’s like not that this not that the prospect showcase was meaningless as far as um you know because other guys were were really trying to make strong impressions, but for him he knows like my goal is to make the the the Blackhawks out of training camp and be a full-time NHL player this year. I think it was just step one of the the long season that he’s likely going to have. and he had a longer season last year than most because when all those AHL guys got to get away during the AHL All-Star break, he got called up to the Blackhawks and was practicing with them. So, he didn’t really get a mental break. And so, I I have no concerns about him. And I think too, it was a challenge last year that he had that foot injury before, so he wasn’t able to participate in the the prospect showcase. Didn’t have all of training camp. So, uh, no concerns with him, but I thought it was noteworthy that Renzel at least stood out on the back end because those two those two are going to be the the drivers for Chicago on the blue line for many years to come. Can you handicap like what do how do you think what are Lev’s odds of making the team out of camp? To me, it seems like it’s sort of his job to lose like he’s got it unless he’s awful in training camp. Um, what what’s your thoughts on that? Do you think he’s making the team for sure? I I I would put it at above 50/50. Like I I think it’s more likely than not he starts the year with the Blackhawks and becomes a full-time player. Mainly because of what I saw from him when he was with Chicago last year. Like he just did not look out of place. He didn’t Rockford last year even when he went back for for the stretch run and for the playoffs like he was there mainly to just get a few more important games in. But I think if you’re projecting the roster and you see Vic, Renzel, Wyatt Kaiser once that ever gets done, which I expect it to, but on the right side, like if you’re looking at Renzel, Murphy, and if Lefchov’s not there, that it’s a pretty thin blue line. So, I think I expect that Lev is going to make the team out of training camp and he’s going to be a full-time NHL player this year unless something disastrous happens during training camp where they’re like we he needs more time of seasoning. Well, I think he’s the kind of guy like he’s this is just kind of what he’s going to be is he Levinov is going to be a high risk, high reward. There’s going to be moments where you’re pulling your hair out like why did he make that decision? And then there’s going to be moments that completely wow you. And we saw that last year in Chicago. We saw it last year in Rockford. And I think as he matures, it’s just it’s going to be less of the oh my god bad and more of the oh my god good. You just hope that ratio grows as he gets experience. But I don’t I don’t think there’s anything that he’s going to gain in Rockford that he can’t also learn at the NHL level physically, athletically, speedwise, uh understanding the game-wise, he’s right there. So yeah, you know, this year is going to be about young guys making mistakes, so why not let them make them at the highest level? That’s where I’m at. Yeah, I agree. And I don’t think the Hawks the Hawks knew this when they drafted him. Like this wasn’t like he’s he’s totally changed his game. Like this is when you watched Michigan State games, you’re like, man, he can totally impact a game offensively and defensively. And the way I’ve always explained watching Lefchoff is he’s just a freelancer out there. And yes, you do need to put parameters in place to make sure that he’s not going totally awall, but it it’s almost like like I made this analogy on our podcast like a while ago about like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens when they had Ed Reed and Troy Palamalu. It’s like the other 10 guys had positions. Those two, they were able to freelance and just read the play and just do whatever and we’ll work around you. Kind of similar to like Levino. I know it’s small. There only four other guys on the ice. He’s not 10, so it’s harder to get away with it. But he’s so skilled offensively and he’s such an effortless skater that if he does find himself below the goal line offensively, which we saw a couple times in the the first game against St. Louis, he’s often times the first guy back as well. And if the players on the ice know those are his tendencies, then they can cover for him while he gets back. And so I don’t think it’s a larger concern, but it is going to be something that the coaching staff is going to have to put those parameters in place because you don’t want to coach his instincts out of him, but you also want to strengthen and affirm why the Blackhawks drafted him in the first place and to utilize those strengths. What sense do you get about a guy like Nick Lardis or Oliver Moore when it comes to potentially fighting for an NHL spot out of camp? I mean, talking about the defense like Renzel, Levinov, you know, that left side’s got a little bit of a competition as well, but up front doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of spots open, but seems like maybe more andis are guys out of that group of young players that kind of feel like they might have the first opportunity to do that. Yeah, I I feel like Nick Lardis is probably going to be a slam dunk to start the year in Rockford and just kind of take over that Dylan Sakura type role from years past where it’s like you’re going to play the first not not the same because I feel like he’s going more so like first line guy, first power play, like you’re going to get all the offensive minutes and be in that type of role. U so I see I see Nick Lardis starting there in Rockford likely or potentially going to get a call up at some point maybe in the season just to see where he’s at, but I don’t know if he’s this year is going to be the year where he cracks the NHL fulltime. Oliver Moore is interesting because I kind of had him pegged as a guy that was going to start the year in Rockford. Mainly because when you look at the roster, there’s so few spots available that if there if he is going to crack the everyday roster out of training camp, one of two things needs to happen. There either has to be an injury for a spot to open up or there’s going to have to be bodies moved out because I don’t see the Hawks having Colton Doc or Landon Slagger as their 13th forward, right? And then you don’t trade for a guy like Sam Laughafer to be your 13th forward out of training camp. So that puzzle piece is going to be interesting. Like what’s going to happen with Lucas Reichel in training camp? I’m not sure. When I did my original projection of like opening night roster in August, I didn’t have Reichel on it. Not because I didn’t think he was one of the 12 best forwards, but I’m just not sold that he’s going to be on the opening night roster because it could be a potentially a change of scenery type move. So, if I’m running the Blackhawks, I think Oliver Moore starts the year in Rockford and goes on the Frank Nazar plan where it’s like, show us that you belong in the NHL full-time versus starting with the Blackhawks, then maybe hitting a little bit of a wall in December, then having to go back down, and then it’s a story, and then it’s a talking point when it doesn’t need to be. And so I think if I’m if I’m running Chicago, I would start Oliver Moore in Rockford and let him tell you when he’s ready. Yeah, I’m uh I think you’re right. I think that will be the plan simply because of what you said. It’s a numbers game. And now if Lucas Reichel gets traded between now and 22 days from now, then I think the story changes. But I think they’re going to give Riel a chance, one more chance to see if he can come in and prove himself and and establish himself as a full-time NHL guy with some offensive chops. Um, and I think Lafer, he’s going to play to start the season, but like you said, just with like with Nazar, they kept him there and they until they couldn’t anymore. And then when they couldn’t anymore, they figured it out and they made a spot for him. I think we could see the same with Moore. And I think too like if you’re Jeff Lash and you’re deciding between Moore and Riel, I’m seeing Moore is a guy who even if the puck is not going in, he’s going to give me something defensively. I think that’s or adding just I think that’s the separator. That’s the separator, right? So if he’s looking at at at number 73 and camp and saying, I don’t I don’t see it here with this guy and here’s number 11 tearing it up even if the puck’s not going in. I think that’s an easy choice for Blash. So, we’ll see. There’s there’s going to be a lot to watch during training camp, but uh the Tom Kver showcase was was good in showing us that, hey, these guys we feel are right on the cusp are there. So, yeah, for sure. And I I agree with what you’re saying, too. Like Oliver Moore, he was also drafted by this current regime. Lucas Reichel was not. So, there’s more an investment in Oliver Moore’s development and the fact that he’s two years younger. and watching the Tom Kver showcase uh on Saturday that Oliver Moore participated in, they put him on the penalty kill and he was a threat to with his speed. And so with with Lucas Reichel, I always say if he’s not impacting the game offensively, it’s hard for him to find other ways to impact the game. And so with Oliver Moore, he can impact it. Even if he’s creating those chances and they’re not going in, you could still throw him out on the penalty kill and his speed can be a dangerous weapon for Chicago to potentially get short-handed opportunities. Charlie, we’re going to let you go. I know we’ll check up later in the uh season, of course, but we’ll see you Thursday as camp opens at 53rd. Awesome. Thanks for having me, guys. You’re welcome. Thanks for being had. That’s Charlie Romelotus from WGN Radio. Got to hit the break zone for the first time. Do us a favor. Hit that like button for us. Uh, some final thoughts on Cervers and then we’ll get to your mailbag questions coming up next on CHGO Blackhawks. He said hopefully confidently. Confidently. All right, let’s be real for a second. We have seen enough softness in Chicago over the last oh 24 hours or so. Getting pushed around, being looked like uh you suck, being whipped up and down the field. Stumble bummed. Yeah, exactly. Enough of that. You know what doesn’t make that happen? RC Cola. That’s right. We want the RC Cola of football teams on the field instead of the one we have now. I’m tired of it. The Bears are soft. RC Cola is not a soft drink. Just damn good cola. No glow up, no trends, no gimmicks. It’s been the same cola since 1905. Why? Because it’s perfect. And it doesn’t need a glow up. It’s already great. Do yourself a favor. Grab some RC at your local store. Watch the game. It eases the pain. I promise you when you’ve got an RC cola, RC is the move for whatever you’re doing. RC Cola is not a soft drink. Just damn good cola. And on that note, if you’re a coach looking to coach up some young athletes to be the next best professionals, give them some RCA. and also sign up at iontheball.net to become one of the next great teachers. It’s simple. You can create a profile, upload your background check, and boom, you are in. Just 50 bucks a month or $500 for the whole year. Athletes of all ages and all sports can find you directly. And a great promo that they got going on on Eye on the Ball offers free six months to start out. And eye on the ball is great because it doesn’t mess with your schedule, your payments, or your business. You’re in full control. You connect with the athletes who are already looking for coaches like you. So, if you’re ready to grow your coaching business and reach more athletes, check out eye ontheball.net. That’s eye ontheball.net. Don’t wait. The athletes are already there looking for you. And we’re back on CHDL Blackhawks. And during the break, we got a little news from our buddy Scott Powers who had an update on Wyatt Kaiser. a little insight here uh on the contract situation as it uh comes down to crunch time. It really does. Uh training camp opens on Thursday. Blackhawks will have uh medical uh medicals physicals on Wednesday and as Scott points out here, Wyatt Kaiser will not be able to to participate in those on Wednesday without a contract. So, as we sit here at 2:20 p.m. on Monday, uh, still no no deal between the teams, um, Scott’s, you know, put it out on the Athletic said that both sides have been negotiating a new deal for about a month. Um, and says here, he notes that the Blackhawks are believed to be offering Kaiser an increase in pay, obviously, uh, but isn’t exactly the bump Kaiser and his camp are looking for. Neither party wants Kaiser to miss any of training camp. So interesting interesting note. I’m qualifying this very clearly. I’m looking directly into the camera so everyone hears me and sees me say it clearly. I really like Wyatt Kaiser. I want Wyatt Kaiser to be back on the Blackhawks. I want Wyatt Kaiser to be uh almost, you know, everyday defenseman on this roster. However, I don’t think Wyatt Kaiser is in any position to be hardballing the Blackhawks right now. There is a very limited sample size. The sample size we have on Wyatt Kaiser is in all honesty a mixed bag. He has had stints where he’s looked great. He has had stints where he’s had to go back to Rockford to figure things out again. Ethan Delmro remains in the system. Kevin Cchinsky remains in the system. Nolan Allen remains in the system. Those are three guys that as of today now 222 don’t have a spot on the roster because of Wyatt Kaiser that are probably NHL ready. So if Wyatt Kaiser is not getting that message and doesn’t understand look I I don’t mind the fact that that Kyle Davis is not just like yeah here. Okay, fine. Whatever you want. No. Like I know they’ve got a ton of cap space but he just can’t be willy-nilly paying people money they haven’t earned and money they don’t deserve. You’ve got to pay for the performance you believe is coming. I hate to say it, but I I’m sure they’re going to make a good a fair deal. I think it’s going to get done in time, but I just I just find it odd that they’re they’re at this like stalemate over money. Again, I like Kaiser. I just don’t I don’t know. I I I don’t know what they’re what his camp is saying is their justification for sort of I don’t want to say holding out, but you know what I’m saying. Yeah. I mean, if if nothing happens by by Wednesday, Thursday, then it’s he’s holding out. Yeah. Because then because now you’re because now you’re missing uh training camp time. I mean, the fact that he’s in town, the fact that he’s participating in those uh unofficial skates with the team this past week, unofficial, like those are signs that, you know, you’d you’d expect something is close, right? Um, I just, you know, I I think I I wonder if it is, you know, yes, it’s a salary increase, but it’s only, you know, maybe they’re only offering him a shortterm like two-year, 1.5 million per year kind of thing, and he’s just like, no, I want two or two and a or three or whatever. Um, and they’re that far apart. I don’t know. I I think that’s that’s kind of where you get into this space with, you know, restricted free agents that aren’t arbitration eligible. Then you kind of you get into that that sticky water. I mean, look, sticky water. What am I the heck am I sticky situation? Sticky water is gross. I saw him live at the checkerboard lounge back in the day. Yeah. And sticky water. Muddy’s lesser known and grosser brother. Yeah. Um sticky situation uh with with with our face cuz look across the league. guys that are more higher profile to their teams are still unsigned like Mason McTavish and Luke Hughes. Um, so it’s it’s it’s an interesting situation, but I agree. I I will also look at the camera. The Blackhawks are better with Wyatt Kaiser in the mix. They will live without him defensively. Yeah. So, I I it’s it’s an interesting situation uh that, you know, he and the team find themselves in. And I I don’t think a trade of the player is is going to happen if they don’t get to a deal by Thursday. I think then they just kind of maybe wait it out or eventually it’s better for him to be on the ice than to be on the couch. So, it feels like a game of chicken at this point and I think the Blackhawks are going to win. So, because they’ve got all the leverage in this deal and yeah, their their leverage is you’re a you’re an NHL left side defenseman who can play second or third pair minutes. So is Kevin Cchinsky. So is Nolan Allen. So is Ethan Delmro. So is Luis Krevier if you want to put him in that spot, too. Yeah. So they don’t they their defense doesn’t hinge on him. So, I I just I just think at I still think at some point between now and Thursday, something will get done, but it’s just fascinating that we’ve gotten to this point. All right, before we get to the mailbag, we’ve got some big stuff to tell you about. We are still raising funds for our brothers at Big our brothers, our friends at Big Brothers Big Sisters. So, let’s get those donations in. BBBS.org is the site to go. You can donate there. You can also donate uh via our YouTube page, so jump on that. We also have a massive merch sale going on right now. 20% off everything in store, up to 85% off already markdown items. This does exclude pre-sale and print on demand items. But 20% off storewide, up to 85% off markdown sale items. So, make sure you do that. And a little bit of a heads up, too. We want to let everybody know about our buddy Patrick Norton. He writes our newsletter. He is our editor here. Great stuff. Every day he sends out a newsletter. It is free. If you’re a diehard, you get it automatically. Don’t unsubscribe. Read it. And if you don’t have it, you can get it at all.com/newsletter. Sign up for Patrick Norton’s newsletter. It’s one email a day. It’s in your inbox in the morning. Kind of news and notes of the day. I really like it as a kind of wake up, grab the phone next to the bed, put the old spectacles on, and open the mail up and see what did I miss last night? What the Cubs do? What the socks do? Is there any news overnight I miss? Boom. I’m ready for my day. Takes three minutes to read. Well written. Good stuff. Always a funny quip in there from Patrick, who is one of my favorite people here. Uh all cgo.com/newsletter. Sign up. Now, why don’t you tell that to him to his face? I do. He waits till his back is turned and my brother from another mother. It’s not what I’ve heard. But no, you’re making a great point. It’s just like it’s just like if anyone loved reading a newspaper growing up or anyone just wants to get the quick cliff notes of what’s going on in Chicago sports before you go to work, it’s the perfect newsletter to do. He’s got a knack for finding like the quotes that matter, the stats that matter. Uh, and every time I read it, I learn something new. So, uh, all.com/newsletter. It’s free. We’re not going to bomb you with 15 things a day. It’s just one newsletter every morning. So, do that. bbbs.org to give some money. Uh, all city store, save 20% on everything. The money you save on the on the merch you can give to Big Brothers Big Sist or Venmo Patrick. That too. No, don’t do that. I don’t like them that much. He does put that at the at the bottom of his newsletter. Venmo handles sticky water. Yeah. All right, let’s get one mailbag question in here before the break. We are at a snail’s pace in terms of mailback, but that’s all right. That’s okay. We got to for 20 minutes. Yeah. This one’s from original sixpac. Is it Pac or PAC? Probably pack. I’m going to say Pox as a wrestler. It’s probably Pack. All right, fine. Uh, first time die hard, longtime listener, looking at the Hawks roster, who will have a greater impact this year regarding some of the older vets, Bertusi, Donado, McKayv, Terrainan, or Burkovski? I am going to say so impact, bigger impact, not necessarily bigger point total or or anything like that. Bigger impact. Uh, to me it’s Ryan Donado because last year’s 31 goals, 62 point season was unexpected. He got paid off of it. A very team friendly deal uh in in my opinion, but he’s going to get a lot of opportunities to start the year to play in the top six and be that guy again because you did it last year and he you’re a versatile player. He could play up and down the lineup, but maybe the Blackhawks feel like he’s a guy that’s going to be in that top six. Play with Connor Bard, maybe play with Frank Nazar. Who knows? Um, we’ll see in a couple of days. But I think what you got out of Ryan Donado last year was unexpected. Now there’s expectation. What are you going to do to live up to it? I think it’s a tossoff between uh Donado and Burkowski. I think you know what you’re getting with Terra Vinan and Berusi. Those guys almost every year. Excuse me. I don’t know what that was. Play to the back of the It was sticky waters. It was. Yeah. Sticky waters. No. RC would never Joseph. Uh, no. But you know what you’re getting for the most part from Bertusi and Terrainan. Uh, Donado remains to be seen. If he’s a 60point guy, I’m pretty confident calling him a 50point guy. If he Yeah, I I I think with the group around him, he can do that again. Now, Burkovski is gonna get every chance to be in the top six, probably every chance to play with Conor Bard. And I know it was not a name that really moved the needle for Hawks fans, but if you look in his past few years, like the last two years in Colorado, his first year with Seattle, more than half a point per game. Uh, his issue has been health, but when he’s healthy, he produces. So, I’m really hoping that Barakovsky becomes uh a if he plays 82 games, you’re probably looking another 60some point guy. If he’s with Bard, it could be more than that. He’s going to get power play time. He’s a big body. He’s a power forward type. He’s 63 203. He’s got a little bit little bit something to prove Andre Burkovski because a guy who’s had this kind of success in the league just being a salary dump. Hopefully he sort of takes that personally and it’s a really good opportunity for him to establish himself as a top scorer and I think he’s going to get more opportunity here than he probably would have gotten anywhere else. So I think I’m going to call it a tie between Donado and Burkovski. But I if if he is healthy or he plays 60 70 games, I think he’s going to have a really solid impact for the Hawks. Yeah, I I think if if he has even just a fraction of that return to form that he had uh the cup year in Colorado, I think you’re going to be really happy with it. And Chris says in the chat that Burkowski was awful last year. If he puts up better numbers, it’s just because he got to play with Betard. It’s fine. He he’s was coming off last year coming off an injury. So if he’s anytime you see a guy with a with a big injury come back the next year, it does take some time to get going. usually he had a better finish to the season than he had to start uh McKay is a good example of that. It’s a guy who was coming off an injury in Vancouver, started off a little bit slow and then found his legs for the Hawks like probably a third of the way in into the season and became a really nice bright spot for them uh short-handed and even strength. So, if Verikoski can do the same, we’ll see. I I’m not going to judge a guy coming off of one injury play year and Seattle is kind of what a weird team they are. can’t figure them out. They should be better than they are, but maybe they shouldn’t. I don’t know. Their uniforms look good, though, and that’s what really matters. They do. Uh, speaking of uniforms, we got the Detroit Centennial uniforms. We’re going to share those coming up, so stick around. Hit that like button back in 2 minutes on CHGO Blackhawks. We are CHGL. They are CHSN, the Chicago Sports Network. and it’s the official TV and streaming home of the Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Socks, broadcasting over 300 live games per year. CHSN offers the all access plan that’s $29.99 a month. It gives you access to all games and programming on the network and individual team plans for $19.99 a month. That gives you access to the games of the team you select. So, if you just want the Blackhawks, $19.99 a month, you’ve got just the Blackhawks. It’s as simple as that. You can sign up to watch at chsn.com or you can watch via the CHSN app, which can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung TV. CHSN is also available on Xfinity, Direct TV, Direct TV Stream, and Fubo. Visit chhsn.com for more details. CHSN.com. And if you don’t want to watch these teams what at your house, you can go to the games with our friends at Game Time for a great price. The Game Time app gives the advantage back to the fans. It is the hack for unlock unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. Incredibly easy to use. Game time guarantee means that you can trust that you’ll get 100% authentic tickets on time and at the best price. And the fees are always included, so what you see is what you pay. You also have uh zone deals from Game Time that save you even more when you choose a section that Game Time has for a special. Uh then Game Time then chooses the seats for you. So you save a little bit money. You give the power in their hands, but they’re not going to put you in a bad seat because Game Time has the view from your seat option that allows you to see what the view will look like before you buy the tickets. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the app, create an account, use the code cho, get $20 off your first purchase. Tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. Damn, I was trying to match my exact pose from the commercial read. I was like trying it. It’s like that game where the the wall is coming at people and they have to they have to We got We got to try that one day. We seriously need to try to perfectly match or have them flipped or something like that. Try and do YMCA or something. Should we let people in by the way? And why we record? We have to be exactly 2 minutes. Yes. For the fast channels on Roku, Xfinity for their time it out. The exact to the two minutes. That’s why we started recording. Can’t have our tom foolery 4-minute ad breaks like we used to. Well, I have to say too that us we do a pretty good job. One take usually. I I produce a lot of shows. You guys always You are one takes. You guys get it done. You’re very efficient with your time. Yeah, we’re professionals. I was thinking though back in the day like Karm when we were allowed to do it live. I’m Karm did like a 25minute ad read once. Sounds great. You know when when the ad says uh adlib and add your own experience, we give an inch, we take a mile with that. So they said no more of that. What’s funny is that you wrote the Monster Jam copy yourself. You sent it back and you said I want to write it personally. Sarah was I actually didn’t have a script for that. I was just it just all from the heart. So it just started coming out. So yeah, Sarah was there. I saw a big I hope so. or she was like in a monster truck. One of the jam. Yeah. Yeah. All right. More mailbag. Enough. Tom Fury. This is a serious program. All right. This one from Big Len says, “For the mailbag. I’m surprised that you seem to be okay with offering Y Kaiser 3 million a year.” Okay. He has potential, but he was not even a full-time NHLer last year. What gives? By contrast, I recall you thinking that you didn’t want to pay Donado more than 4 million a year. What am I missing in your analysis? Well, I would say the facts first. Didn’t we say 6 million for Donado? We were talking in the in the five to six range. Yeah, that’s what we were that’s what we kind of expected it would take to get done with the Hawks before he got to No one’s upset about four million free agency. No, not at all. That’s a that’s a team friendly deal for that player. Um, in terms of three million for Kaiser, that would to me would depend on term. Well, I mean, Frank Nazar just got six in change. So if if you’re if you’re looking at what Kyle Davidson has been doing with these contracts for the young players in house and everything we’ve seen with Vic and Nazar and Spencer Knight, he’s projecting out like, okay, pay you for what you can be. And can Wyatt Kaiser be a guy that plays consistently reliable third or second pair minutes? Yes, I believe he can be. Yeah, I agree. And if the Blackhawks believe he can be, well, what what monetary value is is that worth for a guy at his age, you know, 23 24 years old um to be able to play those kinds of minutes? Well, Alex Vic is making just over four and change. And that’s a really sweet deal for a guy who currently is your number one defenseman. So if Wyatt Kaiser is to be able to play those minutes is three million that’s well that’s less than Vassic and that’s pretty much I’d say across the NHL less than market value for a guy who’s a playing as a four five defenseman. I’m trying to see like guys who make that much money. Um like $3 million cap hit. Henry Yokaharu I was just going to say Jaylen Chatfield makes that much money. Timothy Lilligrin makes that much money. TVR, our guy makes that much money. We’re looking to go by age here though, like a little more similarity in age. Yeah. I I think I think if you’re Yeah. And to what you said with term, yeah, that also is is part of it as well. If it’s a, you know, two-year deal and you give him three three and a half, then you’re like, okay, then you you expect him to be every day in your lineup, probably second pairing. Um, but if you give it a little bit more of a longer run, three or four years, which yeah, three or four years, then yeah, you’re saying we believe you can be that guy for this long term. And also at this money, it’s pretty much fair value. Especially with the cap going up, it becomes m way more team friendly if Kaiser ends up being an everyday second pair guy playing those minutes. All right, here’s a name. Tell me if I’m way off base with this one. Excuse me. San Jose’s Mario Ferraro. I like him already. He’s 26. Uh he makes 3.25 million. Mhm. Uh now again, he’s with San Jose, so you got to take the take the plus minus out of it because they’re all bad. Sure. But he’s basically a 20 point player. Uh more of a defender than an offensive player. Like I feel like that’s fine. I just Yeah. 3 million if the Hawks sign him. I’m going to make a prediction though. It’s not going to be that much. If it was three million, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. But yeah, I think I I think especially just reading what Scott put out there about, you know, the Hawks are offering him a pay increase, but it’s not exactly what Kaiser’s camp was looking for. They’re probably going to split the difference. And if Kaiser’s camp is saying we want three, three and a half and the Blackhawks are saying no, it’s 1.75 or two, then you eventually without having to go to arbitration do a little arbitration of your own and you reach something in the middle. Yeah. Uh Labowski 5 says long-term Kaiser is just as promising as any other young defenseman on a Hawks. I think I’m assuming you’re not counting like well in that. I think I think relative or the the I’m going to make up a term just like you do. Poundfor-pound. Oh, I like that. I like that one because sometimes you have people who are way heavier but not as good and people who are way lighter who are really good for their own weight class. So that’s a good one. One pound for one pound. Yeah. Um you can you can use that at home. Uh until I trademark it. But I think poundfor-pound when you look at what Kaiser can become relative to his ceiling. Sure. Yeah. I think I think he’s he’s got just as as good of a case of reaching that as a Renzel or Lechnoff. Now, their ceilings are probably higher, I would say, in most people’s uh view, but I think for the capability of reaching that and being effective, yeah, there’s nothing to say he can’t be that. Yeah. I I also think that we are, as just as much as I want to remind everybody, I really like W Kaiser, we need to remind people that you’re probably all writing off Kevin Gorchinsky too quickly. That’s just my two cents. I think it’s something kind of evergreen we can say. All right, let’s get another I I Kevin Kchinsky. Uh I have him predicted to be on the opening night roster. So that would be Don’t put me in the Kchinsky doubters secret. Is it Asian man? Asian man. Yeah, a man. Yeah. Makes me very uncomfortable, but okay. Uh he says the prospect showcase gave fans a taste of how truly deep the pool is. And that’s before you include the prospects that weren’t there. Fondell, BL, Nester West, etc. Furthermore, there are another nine draft picks in the upcoming draft with only a set number of spots open now and in the future. When do you think Kyle Davidson should start to weaponize the pool and picks for assets? I think it’s going to be soon because as we were talking with our our GM uh Jake before the show, this season is going to give you a lot of uh indication of where some of these guys are at and if they are truly on the development path that you want to be on or if they’re going to be, you know, victims to the number game because it it we we’ve been talking about this for a while. eventually the numbers game is going to cause some of these prospects that we really like and we’ve really been excited to see cause them to be on the chopping block. So, I think this year you’re going to get a a sense of where some of these players are at, especially the defenseman. Um, and I think as this season transpires, as we get closer to the trade deadline and then get into next off season, I think that’s when we might see some of those young guys be used for some creative traits. Yeah, I feel like this is a good season to kind of find out what you’ve got because you’ve got more I mean obviously but you’ve got more NHL ready players than you’ve had in a long time. Like you’ve got sure you know you got Bedard and you got Nazar and Blastic but now finally the fruits of Kyle Davidson’s drafts are really starting to come to the NHL. So I think this is a good evaluation year. I think we’ll probably see some ups and downs maybe we don’t expect like hey let’s give Delmro 10 games. Let’s give Allen some games. Let’s just see what sort of happens here. Um, and of course there’s going to be injuries happening, but I don’t want Davidson to wait too long on this either because teams are going to know like look man, you’ve got too many pieces to move and you’re not dealing from a position of strength here. So, I think that actually I thought it should have been the current summer we’re in. Uh, but yeah, next summer seems like really the time to start like, all right, here’s what we know we’ve got NHLwise. here’s what we think we’ve got coming NHL-wise. Here’s what we just drafted. Here’s our timeline for like your Nesters, your Wests, like your project kind of guys. And then say, okay, who are we willing to move? Who’s got value here? And that’s I think that is a reason why Kchinsk’s name keeps coming up because of the guys you’re willing to move, he probably has the most value. So maybe that’s maybe that’s the sort of thing you’re looking at with Korchinsky if you feel like we really need to solidify. we feel short at this position and deep at this position. Let’s use a depth to to you know a strength to to fix a weakness. Yeah. I I I think they sooner rather than later are going to be in that spot where it’s you really have to start looking around and saying where where are the log jams and how do you fix it? All right, more mailbags. This one from Warm Bards. How would you handle the current goalending situation? I was impressed with the performance of both Bereanoi and Flores. I look and it said they’re both under Rockford contracts. If they both have a good training camp, you’d have three Rockford goalies. If Bruis is a real person, you have three in Chicago, too. Do you think both teams would roll with three? Seems unlikely. Wouldn’t it be feasible assuming to the previous assuming the previous is true to move Bruis and Solder Bloom bring up Kameso and let Flores and Barnoi be the Rockford Tan? I think Barzo is going to the Indie or uh Flores rather is going to go to the Indie Fuel. That seems to be the understanding with him. I I don’t think he was ever I know he’s on a Rockford contract. Yeah. But he was not truly I think a candidate for a Rockford job. I think you look at it right now and the Blackhawks have four goalenders assuming Lauren Brris is capable of playing this season which I mean last week we thought we saw him. It wasn’t him. It was not him. Apologies to Kaden Edwards. Um, that’s who it was. Kayen Edwards punching air listening to our show. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but if you have Bruis, you have four goalies that you that can stake a claim to NHL time with Spencer Knight, Solder Bloom, Drew Kzo, and Lauren Persuis. If Bruis is not in the picture, it makes it really easy to go with Solder Bloom or to go with Knight and then probably Solder Bloom. Yeah. Um, but you I mean as open of a competition as as you can have for the backup goalender position, Drew Kzo has been really good in two seasons in the AHL. There’s nothing to say that he’s technically blocked in any way from being in the NHL. If he outperforms Arvid Solder in training camp, you could start him in the NHL and that would that would be warranted. Um, but it’s probably going to be Arvid Solderloom uh and Spencer Knight to start. You have Drew Kzo be the number one in Rockford. Um, and then yeah, you have Berez Noi is is going to be the backup and you have the opportunity to have Owen Flores as a third goalie there. But you don’t necessarily need to have three goalies in the AHL just because you can. Yeah. Um, so I I I think that makes it a really easy and clean situation. If Bruis is healthy and plays in training camp, then you have an interesting situation because if he’s healthy and plays and is the Lorent Bruis you thought he was going to be, you have to have a you have to have a conversation because Knight is expected to be the starter, but then you have three guys who could be a backup in Bruis, Solder Bloom, and Kzo. If he’s healthy, if Lauren Bruis is the guy you signed last summer, he’s my backup and you trade Solder Bloom because you could Bruis is supposed to be a better goalie than him and was everyone really liked that move when it happened. Reason like he was he had a really good year with Winnipeg and like he got hurt after the signing. He wasn’t damaged goods they signed. He just happened to get hurt going into going into last season with the idea of Morazzic and Brswis like I think I was very excited and I think we all sort of said it’s a matter of time before Brswis takes the starting job. Yeah. And then he but I have no indication that Lorrais is going to be ready for camp. When I asked Nameless Blackhawk I know their name but I’m not going to say on the show. Nameless Blackhawks PR person did I see Lorra over there? They went, “I don’t think so.” Yeah. Like like it was just like a oh that’s Lauren Bruis. I haven’t heard that name in 20 years. It was just like Yeah. I mean, so I look storytime wonders says Bruwis needs to be a trade piece for a forward in a top six. You got to know that he can play hockey, right? I think Bruis has he’s got more value as a Hawk than he does as a trade piece. Now, yeah, if he’s ready for training camp, which is a massive if, and if he’s Lurra Swahis you signed, which is another massive if and another massive if if he stays healthy to the trade deadline, then you could talk about moving him as a as a really solid trade piece. But right now, his value is zero. Mhm. Because no one knows what the hell he is, what he’s going to be. Is he healthy? Is he not? Can he even play hockey again? I mean, for a goalie to miss an entire year with a lower body injury. Well, and the fact Well, in the fact that it was not supposed to be an entire year, right? If he if he goes down last August and they go, you know what, he’s going to have surgery. He’s going to miss the next nine months or something. Then then you just you put it in the back. All right. Or is down for the year. Yeah. Don’t even But it but then it was Dr. Luke Richardson uh saying, “Oh, 3 weeks. 3 weeks. Uh we’re going to see uh might be a little bit of setback, more testing, and then you’re gone.” What he was saying was a 3-w week window in the year 2026. That’s what he was talking about. Sure. A couple people, by the way, mentioning Sheay Weber. I was listening to 32 thoughts today and one of the uh thought line questions, Black Defense, Shber, when a guy is like on a contract like Shay Weber or Carrie Price or whatever, do they have to like actually go to the cities? They do. So like theoretically Sheay Weber should be at Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday to do a physical to get a physical where he will get a letter that says you are incapable of playing in the NHL anymore and you can remain on LTI all season. So but I but Ellie Freeman also said that sometimes they’ll say you just need to go to the NHL facility closest to you and they will write off they’ll they’ll give you the physical and write off the sheet for you. So he might not come to Chicago, but why not a September weekend? September week in Chicago. Beat that man. Yeah. I mean, he resides out in British Columbia, so yeah, he’ll probably go to Vancouver. Pretty nice. You know what? If I was Vancouver, though, I’d be like, “Nope. Fully capable.” Yeah, you can play past the physical. Yeah. Best shape of the year. You should definitely report to Chicago. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Uh anyway, so um yeah, the Brswis thing, the way I’m operating with Lauren Bruis right now is that he’s not going to be a goalie on this team. And until he is, it’s not a problem. If he doesn’t um show up on Thursday, um well, he I think he does have to take the physical. So, yeah. Yeah, but I just mean like if he’s not on the ice, I think, you know, we’re we’re expected to talk to Kyle Davidson on Thursday as well. That’s got to be one of the first few questions. And you will hear all of Kyle Davidson on Thursday when we get back from uh training camp. So, a little bit of a note, by the way, starting on September 29th, excuse me, which is 2 weeks from today, we’re shifting our show time from 2 to 2:30. So, September 29th, we’ll start at 2:30 just to give us more time after practice to get back here, get all the tape fed in, all the stuff we need to do for a show. We don’t want to be rushing up to a show. So 2:30 start time starting two weeks from today. Minor tweak to your schedules. Uh Joey, can we get to the question about Lucas Riel? Because we’ve had some conversation about him and it’s been in the chat for the last few days. We haven’t really taken a moment to address it fully. Uh yes, this question from Tatra Hawk. Uh did I miss it or did you not manage to talk about Riel as a trade candidate according to 32 thoughts? If you have missed it, which most of you haven’t because you have brought it up in the chat a lot, uh Elliot Freiedman mentioned Lucas Reichel on not the most recent 32 thoughts, but the previous episode uh that his name has been out there as uh someone who could be garnering some interest around the league or that the Blackhawks could be taking phone calls on. Yeah. Doesn’t shock me that that’s the that that’s the situation because as we kind of talked about uh earlier today on the show is just like kind of this might be the last goaround of figuring out what he is at the NHL level. And if he is at the NHL level with Chicago and you look at the potential makeup of the roster, where does he fit? Is he the fourth line center? Is he a wing on the third line? Does he deserve to be in the top six? It’s it’s a it’s a big question mark. And you know, he he he went into this this off season with a different mindset in training, working on specific things. He got a new coaching staff. Um so there’s a lot to kind of kind of work with. And you know, there was some talk about he maybe he doesn’t even get to training camp with the Hawks, but it looks like he is going to start camp with the Hawks um by all indications here. But I’m not surprised that five. Yeah. Refresh. still a hawk as of now. Um I’m not surprised that the Blackhawks according to Elliot Freeman are open to conversations about moving him and that but I mean so yes we have not gotten into that specific comment in depth because there’s not much there. Basically what Freeman said was if somebody wants him there’s a conversation to be had basically make the Hawks an offer and they’ll probably take it is what it sounds like. I mean you don’t want to just Yeah. I mean it’s not going to be for future considerations. Sure. Sure. But like, but yeah, if they if I think if someone comes to the Hawks and says, “We’ll give you a second round pick or a third round pick.” Mason Mcavish. The Hawks would say, “Yes, we’ll do that.” I mean, look, hey, you joke, you just, but the Mason McTavish thing is dragged down in Anaheim. Pat for Beak is a little wenus, and everyone knows that. I can call him that cuz this is your wenus right here. Right there. You can say we shoulder. He’s a tiny wenus. Um, and he’s he plays hard ball. Screwed up the demodov trade. So there’s there’s just really there’s no there’s there is would you let’s just play let’s just play for funds. Riel Kaiser and a desirable pick for Mason McTavish. I would do that. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. At this point, sure. But it like I think jokingly says rile for McTavish. It’s not going to be straight up. No. But you need more than Lucas Reichel. But you could start the conversation there. I yeah I I think he’s your he’s your great value Trevor Ziggress. Sure. I I think I think with Lucas Reichel um you look at I mean yeah it’s it’s easy you look across you know the RFAS the guys that aren’t don’t have deals or whatnot. Sure you could go into that market too. Um, but you look across the league and and I think as training camp will go on, there will be some players that start to look like I don’t know if they’re going to make XYZ teams, you know, roster out of camp. And Riel might be one of those guys, too. And it might be another 23, 24 year old that is on an you might just have a situation where the Blackhawks and a team match up and say, you know what? Well, you this guy wants a new opportunity, needs a new opportunity, is blocked or whatever. We got a guy here that we don’t necessarily think has a spot in the NHL with us anymore. Maybe he can work it out with you. Swap. Yep. How about this? Reicho and Kaiser for Luke Hughes. And then you get then you have the Hughes brothers have to play together. It’s been agreed upon. So then you get Jack and Quinn. Yeah. It sounds like a perfect plan. Boom. You give Should we Should we bring that up to Kyle on Thursday? Yes. Nolan Allen for Quinn Hughes who says no, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Jack Hughes might take a little more. So you give Delmastrom and Louisie Krebier for Quinn Hughes cuz that’s two. Sure. Or Jack Hughes. That’s two for one. That’s a 200% value. I signer math. I can get behind that math. Yeah, absolutely. I’m big brain in it. The Hughes Brothers to Chicago E5. Yeah. Think of the marketing opportunities. The the Three Brothers. Isn’t that a brewing company? I did almost glitch. Somebody was on one of the guys I interviewed on 32 thoughts was like, “Have brothers ever played together in the NHL before?” And I like completely was like, “Yes, all the freaking time.” Hated many of them. Do you remember the uh on the the now dead NBC Sports Chicago? Yes. one of the games that Caleb and Seth Jones were playing in together. They said this is the first pair of brothers to play together in the NHL. Do you remember that? I do remember that. I mean, aside from all the Sutters, I was just like, I guess the Sadine twins don’t don’t count. The 7,000 Sutters and the Stazzies. It was uh Yeah, that was that was a fun and the Well, no, Berets were never That was a fun one. Well, and wait, did Pablo and Valeri play on the same team? Yeah. Didn’t they play in uh Florida play for Florida time? And the Halls too to the internet. Dennis and Bobby Hall played together, right? Aside from all those we just named off. But yeah, any anyways besides those, Caleb and Seth Jones were the first. Did Pavl and Yeah, I like your I like your your Hughes your Hughes plan. Yeah, I think that’s flawless. Did the Hostess play together? Uh Valyrian and Pavel play together for 0102. I don’t think the hostess play together unless and Marcel unless they played in Atlanta together. Marcel Hosa wasn’t a long time NHer. Um Yamir Jagger doesn’t have any kids coming up in the ranks where he could not that we know of. They play together in Sweden during the lockout. That doesn’t count. So technically that doesn’t count. Marcel Marcel’s such a good name. Marcel Hosa. Marcel. I like that name. I don’t think uh John Merson and his brother played together. Steve Joson. Simon. Oh yeah. I just signed him in NHL 14. It’s time to upgrade, buddy. 26. I’m getting 26 tonight. I’m getting it tonight. All right. All right. It’s pretty good. All right. Can we get one more? Yes. One more mailbag. One less to do tomorrow. Oh, nope. Not a two-parter. We only have time for one part. Damn it. One part of a question. We’ll get to that tomorrow. What’s Where’s a short one? Let’s see. There we go. There we go. All right. Josh, this is specifically for you, Jay. You really think Edmonton is set up to be good longterm? Yes, they are good now, but they are going to age badly in a few years. If they have Conor McDavid signed long term, they will be in good position long term because you have the best player on the planet on your team. And they’re not just going to like rebuild around Conor McDavid. You’re going to there’s going to be people that will like to come and play for Edmonton because he’s there because the chance to win. So, yes, I think that Edmonton will be in good. Will they be in the shape they’re in right now for long term? Were they’re just absolutely stacked top to bottom? Probably not. This new McDavid contract is gonna take somebody away, at least one. But you’ve got uh Ryan Nent Hopkins for the next four. Zack Heyman for the next three. Leon Dryettle for the next eight. Uh you’ve got Evan Buchard for the next four. Darnell Nurse if you want him. That could be a guy that moves for 9.25 for the next five. So they’ve got their core pretty much locked up. Mhm. Um, so the next three, four years, Edmonton’s going to be in good shape if they get the McDavid deal done. And guess what? Even if they don’t, even if they don’t, you still Bard and Dry Cidle and all those guys. Yeah. Like that’s still a good team, it’s just not as good without Conor McDavid. anytime, and we know this better than anybody in this town, like anytime you’ve got sustained success for a long time with a lot of high-end players, the end of that looks bad and feels bad and it’s going to if the Oiler that’s why it doesn’t hurt Hawks fans is bad because there’s three Stanley Cups to show for it. But look at what the San Jose Sharks went through. Look what the Vancouver Conucks went through for a while. Colorado after Sack and Forsber, right? Like they had those great runs and then look at Detroit. Yeah, Detroit’s been chasing history for 30 years now, it feels like. Yeah. I mean, and the Penguins are in the same situation. They’re they’re going down now, but they got three cups out of it, right? So, with a cup, you don’t care about the fallout. Um, but that’s that’s what remains to be seen for Edmonton. All right, we’re going to wrap things up. We will be back tomorrow at two um with remaining mailback questions. Hopefully, we have a new Wyatt Kaiser contract. Maybe we have news on Lauren Bruis. We might. Lots of stuff. If news does break, we are well, not today. We got plans tonight, but we’ll do an emergency podcast as it dictates. Um, as always, I think if a if if something happens tonight, we have to go live from where we’ll be. Yeah, I think that would be I’ll bring my microphone. Awesome. All right, we’ll talk to everybody tomorrow at 2 right here on the CHGO Blackhawks podcast. [Music] [Applause] [Music]

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It’s our final Mailbag Monday of the offseason. This week, we answer questions about the Blackhawks veteran leadership, their playoff outlook and more. We’re also joined by WGN Radio’s Charlie Roumeliotis, who was in Minnesota for this weekend’s Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase.

0:00 START
1:00 Charlie Roumeliotis joins the show!
3:00 AJ Spellacy
9:00 Artyom Levshunov’s chances at making the team
12:45 Nick Lardis role
19:50 Wyatt Kaiser Update
27:55 Monday Mailbag! Which Veteran will make the biggest impact
35:29 Kaiser contract vs Donato contract
40:30 Will Kyle Davidson use young assets to pull off a huge trade?
44:30 Assessing the goalie depth
51:20 Lukas Reichel trade rumors

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