Morning Chirps: Central Division moves, Toews has a flashback

Happy Friday! It’s another Chicago Blackhawks game day as they host the Vancouver Canucks. I’ll have a full game preview later today, along with some postgame thoughts, as the Blackhawks look to win their third straight game.

Blackhawks Chirps

• We had a busy off day at Blackhawk Up yesterday. First, Kyle Bokota wrote that Lukas Riechel’s three-point game in St. Louis may have salvaged his value.

• Nestor Quixtan dropped by to tell us that Wednesday night’s big win could be the start of the good times in Chicago.

• Scott Rogust pointed out that Connor Bedard said the quiet part out loud about the Blackhawks’ future.

• Well, would you look at that…..

• The first episode of Always an Original was released yesterday, and it’s a must-see for every Blackhawks fan. The production value is top-notch, and it features narration by Chicago historian and TikTok sensation Shermann “Dilla” Thomas.

• On this date in 1974, the Washington Capitals won their first game in franchise history by beating the Blackhawks 4-3 at the Capital Centre. This was one of only eight wins during their inaugural season, as they finished with an 8-67-5 record.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 17: Sami Lepisto.

NHL Chirps

• The Ottawa Senators announced that captain Brady Tkachuk underwent surgery on his right thumb and will be out for 6-8 weeks. The Senators responded by beating the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in a shootout.

The Nashville Predators reassigned forward Joakim Kemell to the Milwaukee Admirals ahead of their 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens.  

• The Minnesota Wild reassigned defenseman David Jiricek to the Iowa Wild. He’s only played in six NHL games since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last November.

• Pierre LeBrun reported on the latest episode of TSN’s Insider Trading that Alex Ovechkin isn’t sure what his future holds beyond this season. He will see how his body feels at the end of the year, and if he wants to play another season, the Capitals will sign him “with open arms.”

• The Winnipeg Jets created a fun video featuring some of their players watching old clips and trying not to laugh. One of the selections was an awkward interview with a very young Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, which went over well with his new teammates.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 17: Bert Wilson, Ken Morrow, Frances Bouillon, Jake DeBrusk, Nikolai Kovalenko, and Matthew Knies.