Morning Chirps: Blackhawks line changes, two more top players not hitting free agency

It’s another game day! The Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Boston Bruins today. We’ll have a full game preview after morning skate concludes, then another round of Postgame Musings after the final horn. Meanwhile, at this pace, there will be no free agents to sign when July 1st comes around.

Blackhawks Chirps

• After all the talk about building chemistry and having patience with the lines, head coach Jeff Blashill has already changed things up. Yesterday, he had Colton Dach on the top line with Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. Ryan Donato was down on the third line with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev.

• Blashill also confirmed that defenseman Alex Vlasic will play tonight after missing the season opener on Tuesday.

• Jim Lynch is not worried that Bedard hasn’t signed a contract extension and explains why you shouldn’t be either.

• On this date in 1963, the Blackhawks spoiled Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante’s debut for the New York Rangers by beating him 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium. Bill Hay, John McKenzie, and Rob Murphy provided the offense while Glenn Hall made 32 saves for the victory.

• In 1999, Eddie Olczyk became the 139th player in National Hockey League history to play 1,000, as the Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes skated to a 3-3 tie.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 9: Art Townsend, Al Rollins, Greg Vaydik, Jason Morgan, Trevor Daley, and Nicolas Beaudin.

NHL Chirps

• The 2026 free agency class lost another elite player as Jack Eichel signed an eight-year, $108 million contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights. Scott Rogust at Vegas Hockey Night says Eichel backed up his words as he remained loyal to the team.

• Eichel and his new teammate, Mitch Marner, had a crazy night against the Los Angeles Kings. The Golden Knights trailed 3-1 at one point, took a 5-3 lead, and then lost 6-5 in a shootout. Marner had two assists, while Pavel Dorofeyev netted the first hat trick of the NHL season.

• Earlier in the day, the Winnipeg Jets signed Kyle Connor to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension to become the highest-paid player in team history.

• Wednesday was a buy day for the Edmonton Oilers. First, they signed defenseman Mattias Ekholm to a three-year, $12 million contract extension. Later in the evening, the team signed free-agent center Jack Roslovic to a one-year, $1.5 million deal.

• When the Oilers stepped onto the ice, they blew a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Calgary Flames. Leon Draisaitl scored his 400th career goal in regulation. He was also the only Oiler to beat Dustin Wolf in an eight-round shootout.

• Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason confirmed that disgruntled forward Yegor Chinakov will not be in the lineup when they open the season tonight against the Nashville Predators. You have to believe a trade is coming soon because this relationship is not working.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 9: Bill Cook, Garry Peters, Wayne Thomas, Rem Murray, Jason Krog, Henrik Zetterberg, Stephen Gionta, and Phillip Di Giuseppe.