Morning Chirps: Connor Bedard injury reaction, Mark Bernard honored by AHL

We had a very busy day on the site yesterday, as the Chicago Blackhawks broke some bad news that we were all dreading. Get caught up on all the hockey news with Thursday’s Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks announced yesterday that Connor Bedard had successful surgery on his injured left shoulder and is expected to be out for four months. This is NOT the same shoulder he injured against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12.

• Nestor Quixtan tried to answer the question of what happens next after Bedard’s injury.

• Even before the Bedard news broke, Justin Lynch pondered if general manager Kyle Davidson had done enough this offseason.

• Scott Rogust points out that ESPN slammed the Blackhawks for the Bowen Byram trade and extension, which is par for the course from the national media these days.

• However, Jake Rivard says that Quinn Hughes’ next contract will take a ton of pressure off Byram.

• Rockford IceHogs general manager Mark Bernard was given the Bruce Landon Award as the American Hockey League’s outstanding hockey operations executive. He planned the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic and was a key part of securing a new collective bargaining agreement. All of this while he had a successful liver transplant in March. A well-deserved honor for one of the best people in the sport.

• Staying in Rockford, the IceHogs will play their home opener against the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday, Oct. 3. The full AHL schedule will be released later today.

• On this date in 2014, the Blackhawks signed Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to identical eight-year, $84 million contracts.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, July 9: Phil Hergesheimer, Jim Harrison, Steve Dubinsky, and Chris Campoli.

NHL Chirps

• Pat Verbeek’s nightmare summer continues. According to David Pagnotta on Wednesday’s episode of The Sheet, Cutter Gauthier’s price tag could be as high as $15 million per season. That’s a very high price even without the Leo Carlsson $18 million offer sheet.

• Speaking of offer sheets, the Utah Mammoth matched the one the New Jersey Devils gave Barrett Hayton. The young center will make $4.775 million this season. Because they matched, they cannot trade Hayton this season, and he will be an unrestricted free agent next July 1.

• The 2025-26 Carolina Hurricanes are officially part of the greatest trophy in all of sports!

• Former IceHogs defenseman Ryan Mast has signed an AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, July 9: Frank Finnigan, Tom Anderson, Red Kelly, Andre Pronovost, and Karlis Skrastins.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow