Morning Chirps: Kaprizov rumors continue, Capitals coach under investigation

The Chicago Blackhawks prospects wrapped up their busy week. We’ll get a couple of days off before the NHL training camp opens on Thursday. Hockey is almost here!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks lost to the Minnesota Wild 3-2 to close out the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. Sam Rinzell, Artyom Levshunov, and Oliver Moore all sat out the second game after having big nights against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. The team looked a little disjointed at times, but that’s to be expected in these types of games, especially with their top prospects sitting out.

• The highlight of the night came in the second period when Nick Lardis found Ryan Gagnier from behind the net for the Blackhawks' second goal.

• AJ Spellacy sat out for the third period for what were called precautionary reasons. He’s expected to be fine for the first day of training camp.

• Owen Flores provided another strong start in net for the Blackhawks. The 21-year-old Chicago native was the only reason the game was as close as it was. Both he and Stanislav Berezhnoy, who was impressive on Saturday, will head to Rockford IceHogs training camp in a few days. Flores could be in line to see some time with the Indy Fuel in the ECHL this season.

• Speaking of goaltending, Todd Welter writes that if Spencer Knight’s extension doesn’t look great right away, it will work out in the end.

• Michael Russo addressed the Kirill Karpizov situation on the latest episode of Worst Seats in the House. He named the Blackhawks as one of the teams that’d be interested in acquiring him, along with the “usual suspects” like the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

• Staying in the world of podcasts, my new podcast, Second Balcony, with my pal Frank Nova, debuted last night. The first episode includes our takeaways from the Kurvers Showcase and the state of the Blackhawks' rebound. Please subscribe to the page and give it a like while you’re watching. The audio-only version is available wherever you enjoy your podcasts.

• On this date in 1976, former Blackhawks great Bobby Hull had an assist in Team Canada’s 5-4 win over Czechoslovakia to win the Canada Cup. He finished the tournament with five goals and eight points in seven games. Defenseman Bobby Orr, who signed with the Blackhawks the previous June, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after putting up two goals and nine points. 

• In 1981, defenseman Allan Stanley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He played 111 of 1,244 career games with the Blackhawks. Stanley was acquired from the Rangers on Nov. 23, 1954, with Rich Lamoureux and Nick Mickoski for Pete Conacher and Bill Gadsby. He had 14 goals and 42 points before being traded to the Boston Bruins for cash on Oct. 8, 1956.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 15: Gerry Pinder, Jerry Korab, and Joel Quenneville.

NHL Chirps

• The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired goaltender Ivan Fedotov from the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. All they had to give up was a 2026 sixth-round pick for the 6’7 netminder. He has one more season left on his deal with a $3.275 salary cap hit, but is only owed $700,000 in actual salary. He has a .874 save percentage (SV%) and 3.29 goals-against average (GAA) in 29 NHL games.

• Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano reports that veteran defenseman Erik Johnson is deciding between three different professional tryout (PTO) offers. While he didn’t list any specific teams, Montano did confirm that none of the offers were from the Colorado Avalanche.

• Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love was placed on “team-imposed leave.” According to the team, they are waiting for the results of an investigation being conducted by the league and would not comment further. Love was a contender for the Pittsburgh Penguins' job earlier this summer. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that the NHL received a letter with details of “a situation that predates his tenure with the Capitals” and that prompted the investigation.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 15: Alf Pike, Richard Brodeur, Ken Houston, Ralph Klassen, Patrick Marleau, and Jan Jenik.