Morning Chirps: McKenna's stock rises, Olympic injury updates

We are one day closer to the National Hockey League returning to action. There are eight games on the schedule tomorrow night before the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Nashville Predators on Thursday. Until then, get the latest on the fallout from Olympic injuries and trade rumors out of the Pacific Northwest.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks were on the practice ice again yesterday. It was a longer session, about an hour and 20 minutes, that ended with some sprints up and down the ice. The team also worked on 3-on-3 and 6-on-5 situations, something they don’t get to do much during the grind of the regular season. They are off today before having a more standard practice tomorrow, and then they head to Nashville to restart the season on Thursday.

• Head coach Jeff Blashill had a positive update on Wyatt Kaiser. He will get back on the ice in the next few days, and he didn’t rule out the young defenseman joining the team at some point on the upcoming road trip. Kaiser has been at the Blackhawks Ice Center working off the ice and has been in the locker room with his teammates. It sure looks like his injury came at the best possible time, as he will miss minimal time thanks to the Olympic break.

• In case you missed it yesterday, I broke down the three biggest areas in which the Blackhawks need to improve over the last 25 games of the regular season.

• Justin Lynch wondered how Connor Bedard would respond after watching Team Canada finish one goal short of the gold medal while he was sitting in Chicago.

• Last night, Frank and I met up in the Second Balcony to discuss the women and men winning goal for Team USA, Gavin Hayes’ breakout season, and the Blackhawks’ trade deadline possibilities.

• A couple of weeks ago, a report surfaced that the Blackhawks were not interested in drafting Gavin McKenna. Of course, this upset some fans, even though it is unlikely that he will even be on the board when the Blackhawks pick. However, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times says the team has noticed the improvement in his all-around game.

• On this date in 1968, Stan Mikita became the third player in team history to score 250 goals when he found the back of the net against the Los Angeles Kings.

• In 1972, Eric Nesterenko became the second player to play 1,000 games for the Blackhawks, and he picked up an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

• In 1988, Denis Savard set two personal milestones in a 6-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers. While playing in his 600th NHL game, he set a franchise record by scoring his seventh shorthanded goal of the season. The previous record of six was set by Nesterenko during the 1964-65 season.

• In 2013, Andrew Shaw scored the only goal in a 1-0 shutout of the Blue Jackets. The victory extended their NHL-record point streak to start a season to 18 games (15-0-3).

• Two years later, Patrick Kane broke his left clavicle after being hit by Alex Petrovic of the Florida Panthers, ending his regular season. The Blackhawks were able to use the salary cap space by placing him on LTIR to acquire Antoine Vermette at the trade deadline a few days later. Kane wasn’t expected to play for 12 weeks, but he returned about a month early for the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 24: Doug McCaig, Murray Costello, Chris Herperger, Tim Erixon, Phillip Danault, and Tyler Bertuzzi.

NHL Chirps

• The Dallas Stars placed forward Mikko Rantanen on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 20, after suffering a lower-body injury at the Olympics. Head coach Glen Gulutzan said the star forward is doubtful for their first game back, and is considered questionable beyond that. The injury certainly doesn’t sound serious, as he can return as soon as Feb. 27.

• Speaking of players injured in Milan, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey will miss a “good chunk of time” with an upper-body injury. Head coach Scott Arneil didn’t reveal any details. He only said that Morrissey will not play on Wednesday, but could join the team during their upcoming road trip.

• The Vancouver Canucks just never seem to have a clear vision. Last year’s locker room drama led to J.T. Miller and Rick Tocchet leaving for the Eastern Conference. Then, they traded away superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes in December. With the fewest points in the NHL, they are expected to trade away other veterans like Evander Kane and Teddy Blueger. Now, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance is reporting that they aren’t against “weaponizing” their cap space to add players. They would like to see if they can acquire assets in exchange for taking on a big contract, as the Blackhawks did in 2022 when they got a first-round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for taking Petr Mrazek’s contract.

• The Buffalo Sabres have been a great story, rising from dead last in the Eastern Conference to a playoff spot. They will welcome back two key contributors when they return to action tomorrow night, as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and forward Josh Norris from injured reserve.

NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 24: Mike Vernon, Brian Savage, Alex Kovalev, Wojtek Wolski, Jordan Spence, Zakhar Bardakov, and Zachary Bolduc.