Morning Chirps: Nazar gets saucy, Werenski addresses his future

Well, look at that; we made it to Friday! That’s another week off the offseason calendar. We’re getting close to the return of hockey!

Blackhawks Chirps

• To continue the records, awards, and milestones week, Gail Kauchuk looked at the young Chicago Blackhawks who will hit the 100-game milestone this season.

• Brooke LoFurno says Ryan Greene’s versatility will serve him well during the 2026-27 season.

• Josh Prost continued his breakdown of the Rockford IceHogs roster by examining the AHL veterans who will play important roles this season.

• Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar and Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli returned to the University of Michigan to take the sauce height challenge for Bauer Hockey.

• We had a fun episode of the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast yesterday as Jay, Mario, and I revealed our Mount Rushmore of all-time favorite Blackhawks, as well as our favorite players who never were Blackhawks.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Aug. 14: Dick Redmond, Brett McLean, and Shea Weber.

NHL Chirps

• The Blue Jackets have had an interesting summer. They fired their radio broadcast team, haven’t signed Fantilli yet, and had to deal with the uncertain futures of Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski. The Blue Jackets had a deal to send Werenski to the Dallas Stars, but he vetoed the trade before both sides recommitted to each other. Yesterday, the most recent Norris Trophy winner sounded open to staying in Columbus beyond the final two years of this current deal. We’ll see about that….

"I think everyone knows how much I love this city and how much it means to me, and I would have no issues being here for an even longer time. I want to see us in the playoffs, and I want to see us make progress, and I feel like we’ve done that. I think winning solves everything, and that’s where we have to get to as a club. We have to raise our standards and expectations, and that starts with myself. I fully plan on doing that this year, being even a better player, better leader, and a better person for my teammates and for this club, and hopefully that just means I’m here even longer."

Zach Werenski

• The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Sasha Patujov to a one-year, two-way contract. No salary was given in the official team release, but PuckPedia says he’s getting $850,000 at the NHL level. Patujov was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for Sean Farrell earlier this offseason.

• Former Blackhawks forward Boris Katchouk signed a one-year KHL contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk. He played for three organizations last season. After three NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild in December. In March, he was moved to the Philadelphia Flyers. He scored 11 goals and 25 points in 46 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch, Iowa Wild, and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Aug. 14: Nolan Pratt, Adam Hall, Josh Gorges, Kyle Turris, Scott Wedgewood, John Klingberg, Carter Verhaeghe, and Logan O’Connor.

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