Morning Chirps: Foligno trade rumors, first-round pick turning pro this season

The Chicago Blackhawks will return to the practice ice with two fewer players than they had when they left Winnipeg on Tuesday. We’ll see if their newest addition joins them at the Blackhawks Ice Center today. Get caught up on a busy day and night across the National Hockey League.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Jason Dickinson joined Connor Murphy on the Edmonton Oilers. He and Colton Dach were traded last night for forward Andrew Mangianpane and the Oilers’ 2027 first-round pick. The pick does have a condition on it, which, of course, the Blackhawks were crystal clear on this time around. Per the team, if the pick is in the top 12, the Oilers can choose to transfer it to 2028. There will be no restrictions on the pick if it’s moved to 2028. If Edmonton trades its 2028 pick before the 2027 trade deadline, the Blackhawks will get the 2027 pick unconditionally. Getting a first and second-round pick for Murphy and Dickinson is pretty solid work by general manager Kyle Davidson.

• Aaron Portzline of The Athletic told The Jason Gregor Show that the Columbus Blue Jackets will add a forward for their playoff push and mentioned Nick Foligno as a possibility.

• Jeff Maroon is back with his NHL Power Rankings now that the National Hockey League is back into full swing after the Olympic break.

• With Connor Murphy in Edmonton, Josh Prost looked at how the NHL trade deadline could affect the Rockford IceHogs’ blue line for the remainder of the season.

• Speaking of the IceHogs, they took on the American Hockey League’s top team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, last night. They hung with the Griffins for the first 20 minutes before they pulled away for a 7-3 victory. Nick Lardis scored his team-high 17th goal of the season, with Connor Mylymok and Joey Anderson chipping in. The Griffins have a ridiculous 42-8-3-1 record. The IceHogs will continue their four-game road trip out west with games at the San Diego Gulls on Friday and Saturday.

• Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times had the scoop of the day as assistant general manager Mark Eaton confirmed to him that Sacha Boisvert will turn pro after his college season ends. The 2024 first-round pick is not having a great season at Boston University, as the perennial powerhouse is having a rare down year. Eaton says that Boisvert’s physical game will be better served in the pros than in college. BU is currently in sixth place in the Hockey East standings. Their regular season wraps up this weekend, with the conference tournament starting on Wednesday and concluding on March 21. Winning the Hockey East tournament is the Terriers’ only way into the NCAA tournament this year, so Boisvert could be in Chicago sooner than anyone predicted to start the year.

• On this date in 1969, Bobby Hull scored twice in a 4-4 tie with the New York Rangers to become the first player in NHL history to have four 50-goal seasons. He finished the 1968-69 season with 58 goals, setting a new league single-season record.

• In 2000, Steve Yzerman recorded his 927th assist, breaking Stan Mikita’s NHL record for the most assists by a player who spent his entire career on the same team.

• In 2021, defenseman Brent Seabrook announced his retirement. He played all 1,114 of his games with the Blackhawks after being selected 14th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

• In 2024, Connor Bedard became the sixth rookie in 30 years to record 25 assists in his first season. The other Blackhawks to accomplish this feat were Patrick Kane (51 in 2007-08), Artemi Panarin (47 in 2015-16), Kris Versteeg (31 in 2008-09), Jonathan Toews (30 in 2007-08), and Seabrook (27 in 2005-06).

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, March 5: Bill Thoms and Bryan Berard.

NHL Chirps

• Wednesday was a busy day for NHL general managers. The Dallas Stars acquired defenseman Tyler Myers from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2027 second-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2029. He is signed through next season with a reasonable $3 million salary cap hit. Myers reportedly exercised his no-trade clause to reject a trade to the Detroit Red Wings and instead go to the Stars.

• The St. Louis Blues have agreed to trade defenseman Colton Parayko to the Buffalo Sabres, pending his approval, as he has a no-trade clause. There has been no word on the return. Parayko was not in the lineup against the Seattle Kraken last night, but that was expected as he’s been dealing with back spasms.

• The Utah Mammoth acquired defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames for defenseman Olli Maatta, forward Jonathan Castagna, and all three of their second-round picks in the 2026 draft. Weegar was part of the big 2022 trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers. He is under contract through the 2030-31 season with a $6.25 million salary cap hit.

• On Tuesday, rumors were spreading that the San Jose Sharks were willing flip forward Keifer Sherwood after acquiring him in January. A day later, they signed him to a five-year, $28.75 million contract extension. First and foremost, good for Sherwood in getting security. However, this is a major overpay for a soon-to-be 31-year-old having a career season. He spent much of his career bouncing between the AHL and NHL until he locked down a spot with the Nashville Predators.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, March 5: Milt Schmidt, Paul Gardner, Anatoli Semenov, Bob Halkidis, Shjon Podein, Paul Martin, and Barret Jackman.