Morning Chirps: A trio of roster moves, history for Stamkos & Ovechkin

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight as they host the Edmonton Oilers. We’ll have our full game day coverage throughout the day and into the late night, so make sure you’re sticking around!

Blackhawks Chirps

• On Sunday, the Blackhawks reassigned defenseman Keven Korchinski and goaltenders Drew Commesso and Stanislav Berezhnoy to the Rockford IceHogs. This is a good sign that the team is getting over the stomach bug that ran through the locker room over the weekend. We’ll get a better idea of the overall health of the team at today’s morning skate.

• Brooke Loforno of The Hockey Writers gave us some insight into why Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis have such good chemistry, as it began in Rockford and carried over to Chicago.

• On this date in 1975, Stan Mikita scored the 450th goal of his NHL career to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

• In 1986, Denis Savard scored four seconds into the third period of a 4-2 win over the Hartford Whalers, tying the NHL record for the fastest goal to start a period set by Claude Provost of the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 9, 1957. James van Riemsdyk also tied this record on March 28, 2014, while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

• In 1994, Jeremy Roenick scored a first-period power-play goal while Ed Belfour recorded his 19th career shutout in a 1-0 blanking of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Jan. 12: Jack Schill, Curt Fraser, Cam Russell, Jay Moore, Jocelyn Thibault, Marian Hossa, Tom Lysiak, and David Kampf.

NHL Chirps

• The New Jersey Devils scratched veteran defenseman Dougie Hamilton for their 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and are believed to be looking to find him a new home. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Devils tried to trade him to the San Jose Sharks over the summer, but he used his no-trade clause to block it. The 32-year-old blueliner has two more years left on his contract with a $9 million cap hit.

• Vancouver Canucks goaltender is back on injured reserve after leaving Saturday night’s game with a lower-body injury. This is his second trip to the IR list this season, having already missed 12 games. He’s been placed on IR six times in his career, not counting the 12 games he missed during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

• Steve Stamkos tied Jari Kurri for 21st place on the all-time goals list with the 601st of his career in the Nashville Predators’ 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals. The tally was also the 223rd power-play goal, to pass Dino Ciccarelli for 10th all-time.

• In that same game, Alex Ovechkin scored his 20th goal of the season. This is his 21st season of at least 20 goals, the second most in NHL history, behind Gordie Howe, who had 22.

• According to a report out of Sweden, former Blackhawks defenseman Erik Gustafsson has had talks about heading to the SHL and playing for Djurgårdens IF for the 2026-27 season.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Jan 12: Tim Horton, Jayson More, Niklas Kronwall, Claude Giroux, Ben Harpur, Declean Chisholm, and Donovan Sebrango.