Happy Saturday, Blackhawks fans! The Blackhawks return to action tonight for their second preseason game against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. Let’s hope it goes better than the opener on Tuesday in Detroit. The lineup is still unknown, but the Blackhawks will hit the ice at Fifth Third Arena for a morning skate before heading to St. Louis. We’ll have a strong idea of the forward lines, defensive pairings, and starting goaltender once that occurs.
Also in Blackhawks news, head coach Jeff Blashill shared a humorous story before touching on several topics when speaking with the media yesterday. More in the links below on the key takeaways from Blashill’s media session.
Around the league, a brutal injury update for the Florida Panthers’ captain, a Penguins’ legend returned to Pittsburgh, and a Canadiens’ prospect suffered a broken hand.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Trade Rumors, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: Frank Nazar is going to play a crucial role for the Blackhawks this season. Blashill touched on his Nazar’s expectations and provided updates on prospects like Drew Commesso, Aidan Thompson, and AJ Spellacy on Friday. He also shared a funny story about getting lost while going on a run recently.
More CHN: Just ten days remain until the regular season begins against the Florida Panthers. With little time to spare, Blashill has already started forming the Blackhawks’ NHL and AHL groups at training camp.
More CHN: ICYMI, the Blackhawks made their first round of training camp cuts earlier this week, which trimmed the roster down to 49 players.
One of the players who was returned to their respective junior clubs is 2025 third-round pick Nathan Behm. In his first game of the 2025-26 WHL season, Behm scored two goals, including the game winner, to lift the Kamloops Blazers to a 4-3 win. What a start!
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
Florida Hockey Now: Another brutal injury update for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Captain Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season after suffering an ACL and MCL injury at practice on Thursday. Barkov underwent surgery on Friday and is out for 7-9 months.
As a reminder, the Blackhawks hold the Panthers’ first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. I’m not expecting Florida to drop down into the lottery or anything, but this could be an earlier pick than originally anticipated.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Just like old times. Marc-Andre Fleury returned to Pittsburgh and participated in the Penguins’ training camp with a packed house on Friday. Dan Kingerski from PHN covered all the excitement with “Flower” back in a Penguins’ sweater.
Forever Blueshirts: Former Blackhawks winger Artemi Panarin reportedly turned down a team-friendly contract extension with the New York Rangers. Panarin apparently wasn’t willing to do the Rangers a favor, and he’s entering the final year of his current deal in New York.
Montreal Hockey Now: Montreal Canadiens defenseman David Reinbacher suffered yet another injury during a preseason game against Toronto on Thursday. The Habs’ former first-round pick is expected to miss four weeks with a broken hand.
TSN: With Joseph Woll currently away from the team, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed James Reimer to a PTO. Reimer, 37, was a fourth-round pick by the Leafs in 2006 and spent his first six seasons with Toronto.
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