Morning Chirps: Final starts with a classic, former Blackhawks prospect lands with Canucks

The Stanley Cup Final got underway last night, and it did not disappoint! Meanwhile, a Central Division rival makes a huge front office hire, and a former prospect signs in the Pacific Division. Here are your Hump Day Morning Chirps!

Blackhawks Chirps

• During the Stanley Cup Final media day, Taylor Hall made some comments that could explain why his tenure with the Blackhawks didn’t go so well.

• In case you missed it earlier this week, Nestor Quixtan says the Ilya Mikheyev situation has more to do with the Blackhawks than the player.

• Scott Rogust wrote about why Ivar Stenberg has become a more feasible draft option for the Blackhawks with the fourth overall pick.

• Both Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times and Scott Powers of The Athletic wrote about the Jack Pridham trade and the challenges the Blackhawks may have in signing some of their lower-tier prospects over the next few years.

• On this date in 2015, the Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Alex Kilorn scored the first goal of the series early in the first period and held that lead until late in the third period. Teuvo Teravainen ended Ben Bishop’s shutout streak at 113:28 by tying the game. Less than two minutes later, he set up Antoine Vermette’s game-winning goal.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, June 3: Jim McBurney and Nick Seeler.

NHL Chirps

• We expected a hotly contested Stanley Cup Final, and that’s exactly what we got in Game 1. The Vegas Golden Knights came out on the winning end of a back-and-forth 5-4 game to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Things couldn’t have started better for the Carolina Hurricanes as Nikolaj Ehlers put them up 1-0 just 25 seconds into the game. The last player to score on the first shot of a Stanley Cup Final was Mike Fisher for the Ottawa Senators in 2007. Ehlers doubled the lead about 12 minutes later. The Golden Knights settled down and scored the next three goals to go up 3-2. Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal with less than four minutes remaining. It was a big night for defensemen as Shea Theodore had a goal and two assists, and Brayden McNabb had three assists for Vegas, while Jalen Chatfield had two helpers for Carolina. Puck management will be key going forward, as both teams seemed to cash in on nearly every turnover. Both goaltenders, Carter Hart and Frederik Andersen, will need to be better if their team wants to win it all.

• Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski won the Norris Trophy, the first of his career. The NHL let him know in a very cool way, by surprising him at a family BBQ. This was a much better way to present the trophy than at an awkward awards show that nobody wants to be at.

• In a quick turn of events, Chris MacFarlane is leaving the Colorado Avalanche to become the general manager and president of hockey operations of the Nashville Predators. He spent the last 11 seasons with the Avalanche, including the last four as general manager.

• Meanwhile, the Avalanche released a statement saying that Joe Sakic will resume general manager duties for the foreseeable future, including through the upcoming draft and free agency period. Elliotte Friedman also reported that head coach Jared Bedard will be back next season.

• Former Blackhawks prospect Ilya Safonov signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks. The Russian forward was drafted by Stan Bowman in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks traded his rights last June for future considerations. His best year in the KHL was in 2022-23 when he scored 19 goals and 37 points in 64 games.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, June 3: Wally Weir, Barry Beck, Doug Houda, Chris Thorburn, and Sami Vatanen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow