Morning Chirps: Change to development camp, Avalanche looking to trade forward

Monday calmed down a bit after all the trade fireworks on Sunday. However, another former member of the Chicago Blackhawks got himself a big payday, while the Hall of Fame class was revealed, and a division rival is pondering moving a talented forward.

Blackhawks Chirps

• If Ivar Stenberg and Chase Reid are off the board when the Blackhawks pick at No. 4, Brantford Bulldogs’ center Caleb Malhotra is far from a consolation prize.

• The Blackhawks’ development camp will return to the ice this year after the last couple of years were off-ice only. There will be two practices at 10 am and 11:45 am on Tuesday, June 30; Wednesday, July 1; and Thursday, July 2. All sessions will be held at the Blackhawks Ice Center and will be open to the public and free of charge.

• On this date in 2000, the NHL Expansion Draft was held for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks’ protected players included Tony Amonte, Michael Nylander, Steve Sullivan, Jocelyn Thibault, and Alex Zhamnov. Defenseman Radim Bicanek was taken by the Blue Jackets, while center Jeff Daw was claimed by the Wild.

• One year later, the Florida Panthers hosted the NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks had two first-round picks, taking forward Tuomo Ruutu ninth overall and goaltender Adam Munro with the 29th pick. Ruutu had 48 goals and 108 points in 228 games before he was used to acquire Andrew Ladd from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008. Munro only appeared in 17 NHL games, but the sting of that miss was dulled a bit with the selection of Craig Anderson in the third round.

• In 2017, the Blackhawks hosted the NHL Entry Draft at the United Center. Before the draft began, Stan Bowman traded Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes for Laurent Dauphin and Connor Murphy. He then shipped Artemi Panarin to the Blue Jackets for goaltender Anton Forsberg and Brandon Saad. At the draft, Bowman selected Henri Jokiharju with the 29th overall pick and Ian Mitchell in the second round. The entire draft class was a swing and a miss, as the Blackhawks got only 126 combined NHL games from the nine players selected.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, June 23: Ken Doraty, Gaye Stewart, Austin Wagner.

NHL Chirps

• The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2026 induction class of Patrice Bergeron, Brian Burke, Cindy Curley, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne, and Keith Tkachuk.

• One day after signing Jason Dickinson to a five-year deal, the Edmonton Oilers gave one to Connor Murphy as well. Murphy gets a little more than Dickinson, as his contract is worth $20.5 million. Both are good players and make the Oilers a better team, but giving five years to two guys on the wrong side of 30 who have dealt with multiple injuries recently is such a typical Bowman move.

• According to Elliotte Friedman, the Colorado Avalanche are entertaining the idea of trading winger Valeri Nichushkin. On the ice, he’s a very effective player, but he’s had some issues that have kept him out of the lineup, and not all of them were injury-related. He’s signed through the 2029-30 season with a reasonable $6.125 million cap hit, and has a 12-team no-trade clause.

• Friedman also reported that Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba are also set to test free agency with their Anaheim Ducks teammate, John Carlson. We’ll see if the Blackhawks look to sign any of them as they pursue a veteran blueliner.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, June 23: Reg Noble, John Ross Roach, Hal Laycie, Brooks Laich, Jordan Nolan, Charles Hudon, Lawson Crouse, and Matthew Kessel.

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