Morning Chirps: High price tag for Wright, Dach's contract delay

If the Chicago Blackhawks want to acquire a talented young center on the market, they should be prepared to pay a hefty price. Plus, a top-10 draft pick will play in North America this season. All this and more in your Sunday Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Some Blackhawks fans are growing frustrated and impatient with how long it is taking for the team to get back into the playoff picture. While there was never a set timeline for contention when the rebuild started, Jake Rivard says another bottom-five finish could force a change of plans.

• Ryan Gagne says there is no reason to worry about any dead salary cap hits the Blackhawks might have when it comes to paying their top young players.

• On this date in 1972, Team Canada announced its tryout camp roster for the upcoming Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Bobby Hull was left off the roster because the team was to be made up of NHL players only, and he had already signed with the WHA. His brother, Dennis, initially declined the invitation but was urged to go and made the team. Stan Mikita, Pat Stapleton, and Tony Esposito were the other Blackhawks who took part in the Summit Series.

• In 2002, Tony Amonte officially ended his time with the Blackhawks by signing with the Phoenix Coyotes. He played 627 games over nine seasons in Chicago, scoring 268 goals and 541 points.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, July 12: Don Campbell, Matt Ravlich, and Gilles Meloche.

NHL Chirps

• Viggo Björck is coming to North America this season. Djurgården announced that they released the talented 18-year-old from his SHL contract so he can pursue opportunities with the Winnipeg Jets organization. The eighth overall pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft has yet to sign his entry-level contract, but that should be coming soon.

• Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported that if the Vancouver Canucks trade Elias Pettersson this offseason, it won’t be just to dump his salary. New general manager Ryan Johnson would want a “strong return” in any deal.

• Staying in Vancouver, Rick Dhaliwal says the Canucks have inquired about Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright. The reported high price tag was for either defenseman Zeev Buium or Tom Willander, but they weren’t interested in giving up that much. It will be interesting to see whether that price comes down to facilitate a trade this offseason.

• Jim Matheson has the reason why Colton Dach has yet to get a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers. The team has just under $6 million in cap space, and they are prioritizing an external acquisition before deciding what they can give to the former Blackhawk.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, July 12: Bob Fillion, Dave Semenko, Dan Boyle, Peter Schaefer, Mark Borowiecki, Jonas Brodin, Kyle Burroughs, Jonathan Kovacevic, Josephy Woll, and Denton Mateychuk.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow