We’ve got a small batch of Chirps to start your Tuesday. The Chicago Blackhawks’ young defensive corps still has a lot of work to do to earn the respect of the national media. One of their former blueliners is getting a shot with another Central Division squad, while a Motown legend criticizes the current timeline.

Blackhawks Chirps

TSN’s Travis Yost continued his Talent Tiers summer series by looking at the defensive depth charts for all 32 NHL teams. He divided the league into five tiers and placed the Blackhawks in Tier 4. The ranking makes sense for the upcoming season. While Blackhawks fans are excited about what this defensive corps can do for years to come, they have yet to prove much at the NHL level. Yost sang the praises of Wyatt Kaiser in his breakdown.

Former Blackhawks defenseman Jack Johnson isn’t ready to call it a career just yet. The Minnesota Wild signed the veteran blueliner to a professional tryout contract (PTO). The 38-year-old has 77 goals and 342 points in 1,228 career NHL games. He had four assists in 58 games with the Blackhawks during the 2022-23 season. He appeared in 41 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and posted six assists.

Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, August 12: Walt Farrant, Moe L’Abbe, Ryan Garbutt, and Rob Klinkhammer.

NHL Chirps

NHL.com’s Mike Heika writes that the Dallas Stars are ready to give some runway to another young defenseman this season. Lian Bischel, who appeared in 38 games last season, is prepared to make a big impact. With Cody Ceci, Matt Dumba, and Brendan Smith no longer in Dallas, the 2022 first-round pick will have an opportunity to be a significant contributor from day one.

The Seattle Kraken signed their final restricted free agent. They inked Ryker Evans to a two-year, $4.1 million contract. The 2021 second-round pick had five goals and 25 points in 73 games last year, his first full NHL season.

The Ottawa Senators are one step closer to getting a new arena. On Monday, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Capital Sports Development Inc. (CSDI) announced the agreement of purchase and sale of the LeBreton Flats (roughly 11 acres of land) to the Senators. The new site is located in downtown Ottawa. They currently play at the Canadian Tire Centre, which is over 16 miles outside of the city limits.

Detroit Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk took a shot at his former team in a recent interview with Sergey Demidov of RG Media. He said the reason the current rebuild is taking so long is that they lack “standout leaders.” He added that young players around the league are maturing more slowly these days, and some never mature at all.

NHL Birthday Roll Call, August 12: Greg Fox, Todd Marchant, Brad Lukowich, Kyle Quincey, Mark Arcobello, and Ville Ottavainen.