Morning Chirps: Remembering Kyle Calder, a busy day in the NHL

Tuesday was a busy day across the NHL as teams gear up for next week’s draft and start making moves. We saw two trades, including one within the Central Division. The coaching carousel keeps moving around, and a veteran defenseman will become a free agent.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The NHL’s buyout window is open through June 30, and I looked at two candidates on the Blackhawks while examining the likelihood of either happening.

• Richard Jelinek pondered whether the Blackhawks should inquire about acquiring disgruntled Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

• Former Blackhawks forward Kyle Calder passed away at the age of 47 on Tuesday. He was a fifth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 1997 and made his NHL debut in 1999. He eventually formed the ABC Line with Tyler Arnason and Mark Bell. They represented the building blocks for the next era of winning hockey that never came to fruition. Instead, they built the bridge between the Jeremy Roenick/Chris Chelios era and the Stanley Cup era. Calder led the Blackhawks with 26 goals in 2005-06 before he was traded the following offseason to the Philadelphia Flyers for Michael Handzus. He had 85 goals and 201 points in 359 games for the Blackhawks. His daughter, Madison, posted this heartfelt tribute to her father:

• Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz had the following to say about Calder’s passing:

• The Vancouver Giants traded Mason West’s WHL rights to the Portland Winterhawks for a first-round pick. According to Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson, this doesn’t change West’s plans to play for Michigan State this season.

• In happy news, defenseman Taige Harding got engaged to his lovely fiancée, Ellie. Congrats, kids!

• On this date in 2013, the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final by beating the Blackhawks 2-0. David Paille and Patrice Bergeron scored in the second period to delight the home crowd. The Blackhawks put up 28 shots but could not get any of them past Tuukka Rask. Marian Hossa was a surprise scratch, as it was later revealed that he was dealing with an upper-body injury.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, June 17: Bob Sauve, Rik Wilson, and Henri Jokiharju.

NHL Chirps

• The Vegas Golden Knights announced that they will not retain head coach John Tortorella. If I’m the Edmonton Oilers, I’m dropping the Mike Babcock nonsense and talking to Tortorella. As far as Vegas goes, it’s widely believed that they will promote Henderson Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig to the NHL.

• The Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the first of two big trades yesterday. The Flyers acquired goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit for blueliner Emil Andrae, netminder Samuel Erssson, and a third-round pick in this year’s draft. This move feels like the first of a chain reaction for the Maple Leafs. They cleared over $5 million in cap space, as both Ersson and Andrae are restricted free agents looking for new deals. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

• Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka also revealed that they are in the “final phases” of their head coaching search. He said they should make their hire in the next several days. Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferscheweiler is believed to be one of the finalists. Patrick Roy, Joe Pavelski, and Dallas Eakens are the other reported candidates.

• The other big trade of the day was between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche, as Chris MacFarland wasted little time in making a deal with his former employer. He acquired forward Ross Colton and goaltender Isak Posch for the rights to netminder Magnus Chrona and a pair of third-round picks.

• Pierre LeBrun reported that defenseman John Carlson will hit free agency on July 1, with a belief that he wants to return to the East Coast. He’s someone who would be a nice addition to the Blackhawks, but it sounds like he wants to be closer to his family.

• Jordan Kyrou is another potential target for the Blackhawks this summer. Stefan Rosner reports that the Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, and New York Islanders have recently spoken with the St. Louis Blues. He also says that he believes Kyrou would waive his no-trade clause to play for the Islanders.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, June 17: Brent Hughes, Mike Milbury, Patric Kjellberg, Stephane Fiset, Matt Hendricks, Marek Svatos, Greg McKegg, Nikita Kucherov, Dougie Hamilton, Sammy Blais, and Jason Polin.

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