Morning Chirps: Team Canada's gold medal chances take a hit, Rangers ready to move out another star

The AHL All-Star Classic gets underway in Rockford tonight. Meanwhile, in Italy, Team Canada suffered a huge injury that could affect their chances of another women’s gold medal. Finally, in New York, one team is getting ready to move on from a veteran star, while another will welcome in a top prospect.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The men’s hockey tournament begins at the Winter Olympics tomorrow with Teuvo Teravainen and Finland taking on Slovakia and Adam Gajan. Justin Lynch wonders if a strong performance at the Olympics will jumpstart Teravainen’s season. We’ll have a “Blackhawks fans’ guide to the Olympics” later today.

• Josh Prost takes a look at young defensemen who will have a chance to step up for the Blackhawks after the trade deadline.

• My pal Frank and I recorded a new episode of the Second Balcony last night, where we discussed the All-Stars in Rockford, who the Blackhawks might be targeting at the draft, and the women’s Olympic tournament.

• Tonight is the first night of the AHL All-Star Classic at the BMO Center, featuring the Skills Competition. There will be seven events for the All-Stars to compete in: Puck Control Relay, Fastest Skater, Rapid Fire, Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shooting, Pass and Score, Breakaway Relay, and Top Goaltender.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 10: Bud Poile, Rick Paterson, and Steve Konroyd.

NHL & Olympic Chirps

• I’ve been asked to contribute to the Olympic coverage on the main Fansided page! I kicked off my coverage by taking a look at how NHL participation has shaped the medal results at the Winter Games.

• Tom Urtz Jr. put together an Olympic Power Rankings to see who’s best positioned to win gold in Milan.

• And Scott Rogust broke down which NHL teams have the most players participating in the tournament.

• In the women’s tournament, Canada improved to 2-0-0 with a 5-1 win over Czechia, but the victory came at a high cost. Canadian legend Marie-Philip Poulin left the game after the first period following a big hit from Czech forward Kristyna Kaltounkova. There was no update on Poulin’s status after the game. Canada’s chances for another gold medal will take a severe hit if she is to miss a significant amount of time.

• It appears that the New York Rangers’ retool will not end with last week’s trade of Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that veteran Vincent Trochek will likely be the next big name shipped out of the Big Apple before the March 6 trade deadline. He will be a big acquisition for any Stanley Cup contender as he plays a solid two-way game and is one of the best faceoff men in the league.

• New York Islanders prospect Victor Eklund is expected to play in North America next season. As a teammate of Anton Frondell on Djurgardens in the SHL, he has four goals and 16 points in 34 games.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 10: Bob Davidson, Randy Velischek, Peter Popovic, Mike Ribeiro, Jakub Kindl, Justin Braun, Alexander Georgiev, Keaton Middleton, and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby.