Morning Chirps: Offseason insight from Davidson, latest on Red Wings GM search

We had a very busy day on Blackhawk Up yesterday as we are gearing up for the upcoming Chicago Blackhawks season. Get all the links in one convenient place!

Blackhawks Chirps

• August is a good time to look into the storied history of the Blackhawks, so I started a journey through the team’s number history with Nos. 1-5.

• Nate Duffet stopped by to look at where Mason West is in his development and his chances of playing in the World Junior Championship.

• Brooke LoFurno wondered what Sacha Boisvert’s chances are of making the opening-night roster.

• You should all be familiar with Gail Kauchak’s Blackhawks coverage, and we are thrilled that she has been added to the mix here! She gave us a great rundown of the Blackhawks’ busy offseason and whether it will lead to success this fall.

• We got to chat with Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson on the CHGO Blackhawks Podcast yesterday and got some pretty good insight into his busy offseason.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Aug 6: Gerry Couture, Andreas Athanasiou, Henrik Borgstrom, and Alec Regula.

NHL Chirps

• The Detroit Red Wings have had a messy offseason, including captain Dylan Larkin requesting a trade and general manager Steve Yzerman stepping down. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press had the latest on their search for Yzerman’s replacement. She reports that the Red Wings have hired a third-party consulting firm to conduct their search, which is expected to drag out for several more weeks.

• Simon Despres is back in North America for the upcoming season, as he signed a one-year contract with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. The 35-year-old defenseman has played in the NHL since the 2016-17 season. He was a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. After 144 games over four seasons, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Ben Lovejoy at the 2015 trade deadline. He moved to the KHL for the 2017-18 season before splitting the following season between the AHL and Germany. He’s also had stops in Sweden, Austria, England, Scotland, and Australia. Talk about being a world traveler!

• Sportsnet continues gutting its staff across Canada. Kelly Hrudey announced that his contract will not be renewed after 28 years with the network, including the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. He was also the color commentator for regional Calgary Flames broadcasts since 2014.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Aug 6: Erik Condra, Christian Djoos, and Joshua Roy.

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