Morning Chirps: Awesome new IceHogs jerseys, Canucks listening to offers on star forward

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight as they wrap up their three-game season series with the Calgary Flames. We’ll have a full game preview shortly after today’s morning skate and some postgame thoughts later tonight. Until then, get your hockey fix with a fresh batch of Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• In case you missed it, yesterday’s practice was quite newsworthy with updates on the conditions of Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen, and Frank Nazar.

• If you have tickets to Saturday night’s game against the Boston Bruins, plan on getting to the United Center as early as possible. The Blackhawks will be celebrating Chapter 3 of their Centennial season, focusing on “The Banner Years.” The special night includes a Duncan Keith bobblehead for the first 8,000 fans. The Atrium doors open at 4:30 and will feature a championship exhibit showcasing memorabilia from the 2010s Stanley Cup runs. At 5:45, Darren Pang will host a Q&A with Dustin Byfuglien, Troy Brouwer, Dave Bolland, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw, and Antoine Vermette. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:30 for a pregame ceremony hosted by the legendary Pat Foley.

• There is a big football game in town on Sunday, and the Chicago Bears are bringing in the right man to get the crowd pumped up. Jim Cornelison will sing the national anthem before the kickoff of the Divisional round game against the Los Angeles Rams.

• Jeremiah Lee took a look back at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. While Connor Bedard got all the focus at the top of the draft, the rest of the class has been working out really well for Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks.

• Jeff Maroon released his NHL power rankings for the week after the Blackhawks navigated through a stomach bug that is still affecting the locker room.

• Back to the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts released a fun video featuring some of the items players keep in their lockers. Wide receiver Alec Pierce pulled out a Duncan Keith Blackhawks jersey. The fourth-year pro was born in Glen Ellyn in 2000 and grew up watching the Stanley Cup run. Maybe he’ll be at the United Center on Saturday to enjoy the festivities.

• The Rockford IceHogs will be wearing these amazing retro jerseys on Feb. 14 and 15 to celebrate the AHL's 90th anniversary.

• On this date in 1931, goaltender Chuck Gardiner recorded a team-record fourth consecutive shutout in a 2-0 win over the Bruins.

• Five years later, made a swap of Hall of Fame defensemen, acquiring Earl Seibert from the New York Rangers for Art Coulter. Seibert played 10 seasons with the Blackhawks and was a big part of their 1938 Stanley Cup win.

• In 1972, Bobby Hull became the first player to play in 1,000 games for the Blackhawks during a 4-2 loss to the Bruins.

• In 1984, Tony Esposito made 35 saves in a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 76th shutout of his career. The win was the 423rd and final one of his Hall of Fame career, which is still the franchise record.

• In 2016, Patrick Kane scored his first regular-season hat trick to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The win was the team’s 10th in a row, and the three goals gave Kane the NHL lead in scoring with 67 points.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 15: Hillary Menard, Randy Holt, and Ethan Del Mastro.

NHL Chirps

• According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Vancouver Canucks are willing to listen to trade offers on forward Elias Pettersson. He added that the Canucks believe the young Swedish center will thrive with a fresh start elsewhere. The 27-year-old has 198 goals and 485 points in 509 career games. He has six more years left on his contract after this season, with a $11.6 million cap hit. The Blackhawks could be a team making a phone call. They are in need of another goal scorer, and they have the assets and cap space to bring him in. Davidson wants to build the next dynasty from within, but eventually a star will need to be brought in from elsewhere. With the free agent market all but dried up this summer, making an offer for Pettersson might be a wise strategy.

• The Colorado Avalanche activated goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood from injured reserve. He’s missed the last six games with a lower-body injury suffered in practice. He has 22 wins with a 2.33 goals-against average (GAA) and .913 save percentage (SV%).

• The Montreal Canadiens signed Alexandre Texier to a two-year, $5 million contract extension. This is a huge deal for the 26-year-old center, who had his contract terminated by the St. Louis Blues in November. He has seven goals and 16 points in 25 games since signing in Montreal.

• The Buffalo Sabres were left for dead not long ago and fired their general manager. After last night’s 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, they now hold a Wild Card spot. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves to earn his seventh straight win on home ice. It is the second-longest such streak in Sabres franchise history. Dave Dryden won eight home games in a row during the 1972-73 season.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 15: Willie Huber, Adam Burt, Brett Lebda, Slava Voynov, Mason Appleton, Martin Necas, Connor McMichael, and Tim Stutzle.