Morning Chirps: Larkin submits short list, Oilers interested in controversial coach

The Stanley Cup Final returns tonight with Game 4! Meanwhile, the Pacific Division was busy on the coaching front with the hiring of a familiar name and the reported interest in a controversial coach. Start your Tuesday off by getting caught up with your Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if Ivar Stenberg could be the next Lucas Raymond. If he falls to the Blackhawks and that’s who becomes, sign me up!

• Jay Zawaski and I hosted another Mailbag Monday episode of the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast, tackling a ton of topics.

• On this date in 1965, the Blackhawks selected defenseman Pat Stapleton from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Intra-League Draft. The NHL used the Intra-League Draft from 1952 until 1975, which was eventually replaced by the waiver system we know today. Stapleton scored 41 goals and 327 points in his 545 career games with the Blackhawks.

• In 1984, the Blackhawks traded goaltender Bob Janecyk and their first, third, and fourth-round picks in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the third overall pick and a fourth-rounder. That first-round pick was used to draft Eddie Olczyk. In a fun side note, the Kings used the fourth-rounder to draft future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, who was a high school hockey star in Massachusetts.

• In 1988, the Blackhawks fired head coach Bob Murdoch after only one season behind the bench. He was replaced by Mike Keenan, who took the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992.

• In 2010, Patrick Kane’s bad-angle overtime goal ended the Blackhawks 49-year Stanley Cup drought as the Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in Game 6 of the Final. Dustin Byfuglien scored in the first period before Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd scored to give them a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. Scott Hartnell’s second goal of the night tied the game late in regulation, setting up Kane’s iconic overtime winner. Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s most valuable player for scoring seven goals and 29 points in 22 games.

NHL Chirps

• Per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Dylan Larkin submitted a three-team trade list, which includes the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights. Not sure what Steve Yzerman can do that will make sense for his club. Those three teams have little cap space, and even less to make a fair trade.

• Michael McCarron would have been a nice pickup for the Blackhawks this summer, as they look for a physical player for the bottom six. Unfortunately, he won’t be hitting free agency, as The Athletic is reporting that he and the Wild are closing in on a long-term deal.

• As first reported by Elliotte Friedman, the Los Angeles Kings are hiring Peter Laviolette as their next head coach. He was also a finalist for the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs jobs. A textbook retread, this is Laviolette’s seventh team. He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. He also took the Flyers and Nashville Predators to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 and 2017, respectively.

• TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Oilers are consulting with the NHLPA to see if there are objections that must be resolved before potentially hiring Mike Babcock. Bob Staufer went on to say that Babcock to the Oilers is inevitable. Stan Bowman has one year to show Connor McDavid he has to plan to win, and he brings in a coach who hasn’t been behind a bench in seven years because of multiple scandals. Master class, Stan.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, June 9: Dan Labraaten, Grant Marshall, Jason Demers, Zach Hyman, Drew O’Connor, Jake Bean, Michael DiPietro, Barrett Hayton, and Cole McWard.  

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