Morning Chirps: Power outage beats IceHogs, Ducks give out another big contract

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back in action tonight when they host the Minnesota Wild at the United Center. Be on the lookout for our three things to watch game preview, and Postgame Musings after the final horn. Until then, enjoy your Friday Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• In case you missed it yesterday, Anton Frondel had a huge game with a “Michigan” goal and a snipe from the slot.

• The latest episode of the Second Balcony is out. Frank Nova and I discussed the top six, roster battles, Lukas Reichel's future, and made some predictions for the upcoming season.

• Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times gives us some insight into the chemistry between defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov.

•  The Rockford IceHogs attempted to host the Chicago Wolves for their first of two preseason games yesterday. With a full house of local school kids, the power at the BMO Center went out seven minutes into the second period and never returned. The game ended in a scoreless tie. Goaltender Drew Commesso stopped all 14 shots he faced. The IceHogs play another preseason game at the Milwaukee Admirals tonight. They open the regular season against the Admirals on home ice against the Admirals on Saturday, Oct. 11.

• On this date in 1934, the Blackhawks acquired future Hall of Famer Howie Morenz, Marty Burke, and Lorne Chabot from the Montreal Canadiens for Lionel Conacher, Roger Jenkins, and Leroy Goldsworthy.

• In 2009, Antti Niemi picked up his first career shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Florida Panthers in his native Finland. The Blackhawks got goals from Brian Campbell, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Dustin Byfuglien.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 3: Glenn Hall, Michael Nylander, Michel Larocque, Sheldon Brookbank, Seth Jones, and Adam Gaudette.

NHL Chirps

• I started our Central Division previews by asking three burning questions about the Colorado Avalanche to Graham Tiedtke, our site expert at Mile High Sticking.

• The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Jackson LaCombe to a huge eight-year, $72 million contract extension. According to PuckPedia, the new deal includes a full no-trade clause from 2028 to 2031, a 15-team no-trade clause from 2031 to 2033, and a 10-team no-trade clause in the final year of the deal, from 2033 to 2034. LaCombe’s contract is the largest one signed in franchise history.

• The Panthers signed defenseman Niko Mikkola to an eight-year extension of his own. The deal is worth a total of $40 million. Florida has their top four defensemen locked up through the 2029-30 season for just under $24 million.  

• The Calgary Flames gave head coach Ryan Huska a two-year contract extension on Thursday. He’s now locked up through the 2027-2028 season.

NHL Birthday Roll Call, Oct. 3: Andy Hebenton, Jean Ratelle, Patrick Flately, Antti Laaksonen, Mike Johnson, Mark Giordano, Bruno Gervais, Artem Zub, and Anton Lundell.