Morning Chirps: Justice for Bertuzzi, 1,000 points for Marchand

The Chicago Blackhawks will hit the practice ice later this morning. Hopefully, we’ll get a better idea of the status of Frank Nazar, Andre Buraskovsky, and Jason Dickinson. Thursday was a busy day in the National Hockey League, marked by the death of a legendary writer, contract extensions, and multiple personal milestones.

Blackhawks Chirps

• It's that time again to remind you difference between a trade rumor and a trade conversation. Don't put too much energy into the recent chatter connecting the Blackhawks to veteran forward Steven Stamkos.

• Connor Bedard was a hot topic yesterday, as Wayne Gretzky broke down his goal against the Devils. Getting high praise for “The Great One” is a massive feather in his cap.

• Todd Matthews stopped by to write that history shows that Bedard doesn’t need to be the best of his generation for the Blackhawks to have success, as his rivalry with Macklin Celebrini grows.

• The Bedard/Celebrini rivalry is more between the fanbases of the Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. The players are good friends and have only played against each other once. They will need to play some meaningful games for it to ramp up between themselves. Until then, they will continue to say nice things about each other.

• New Jersey Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon was fined $5,000 for boarding Tyler Bertuzzi in Wednesday’s game against the Blackhawks.

• Insider Chris Johnston reported that Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will miss about a week with a lower-body injury. He did not play in their overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings last night and will likely miss Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks.

• On this date in 1957, Ted Lindsay scored his 325th career goal during a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. This made him the third-highest goal scorer in NHL history at the time, behind Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 14: Ed Kryzanowski and Taylor Hall.

NHL Chirps

• The hockey world lost one of its greatest writers yesterday. Hall of Fame scribe Larry Brooks passed away at the age of 75. He was the prominent hockey reporter in the New York area for decades, covering the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils. If there was a big story to come out of those three locker rooms, it was usually broken by Brooks.

• The Ottawa Senators signed Shane Pinto to a four-year, $30 million contract extension. He showed he was worth the commitment with a goal and an assist on Thursday, as the Senators snapped the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak by beating them 5-3.

• According to Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs placed former Blackhawks forward David Kampf on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. He is walking away from nearly $3 million and will be free to sign with any team later today.

• Goaltender Scott Wedgewood has been fantastic for the Colorado Avalanche, filling in for the injured Mackenzie Blackwood. The team rewarded the 33-year-old netminder with a one-year contract extension worth $2.5 million.

• The Winnipeg Jets are getting healthy as they activated defenseman Dylan Samberg and forward Gustav Nyquist off injured reserve. Samberg made his season debut against the Seattle Kraken last night after breaking his wrist during training camp.

• Thursday was a night of milestones in the NHL. First, Brad Marchand recorded two assists in the Florida Panthers’ 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals to become the 12th active player to score 1,000 career points. Defenseman Gustav Forsling’s second-period assist gave him 200 career points. The first 27 points of his career came with the Blackhawks.

• The Dallas Stars rolled over the Montreal Canadiens 7-0. Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring with his 100th career goal. Moments later, defenseman Miro Heiskanen picked up an assist to hit the 300-point plateau in his career.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 14: Murray Oliver, Bryan Watson, Rod Seiling, Don Lever, Aaron Broten, Tim Jackman, Jesper Wallstedt, Aatu Raty, Vincent Iorio, and Matthew Coronato.