Morning Chirps: A "serious" Blackhawks anniversary, Flyers lock up another young building block

The weekend is here! Start it off with a new edition of Morning Chirps.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Now that the 2026-27 NHL schedule is out, we can highlight some of the biggest dates, including outdoor games, international play, and revenge games.

• General manager Kyle Davidsons says that he is constantly looking for ways to improve his team. Scott Roche says a trade with the Boston Bruins is a risk worth taking.

• On this date in 2000, the Blackhawks signed veteran forward Valeri Zelepukin. He scored only three goals and seven points in his 36 games in Chicago, the fourth and final stop of his 10-season NHL career.

• In 2008, the Blackhawks named Jonathan Toews the 35th captain in franchise history. The second-year center became the youngest player to ever wear the C for the team, at 20 years and 70 days old. He served as captain for 1,003 games, scoring 348 goals and 829 points while meeting Gary Bettman at center ice to receive three Stanley Cups.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, July 18: Gord McFarlane.

NHL Chirps

• Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar are both entering the final years of their current contracts, and they will redefine the market for defensemen with their next deals. Hughes has yet to sign an extension with the Minnesota Wild, but the team is confident that he will. Head coach John Hynes told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he is “very optimistic” the superstar blueliner will be with his team beyond the upcoming season.

• The Philadelphia Flyers avoided arbitration with defenseman Jamie Drysdale by signing him to a four-year, $26 million contract. He is now the highest-paid blueliner on the team. The Flyers acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks in the 2024 trade for Cutter Gauthier.

• Former Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk signed a one-year contract with EC Salzburg of Austria’s IceHL. This will be the 29-year-old’s third straight season in Europe, after one-year stints in Finland and Russia. He hasn’t appeared in the NHL since he played five games for the Blackhawks during the 2021-22 season.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, July 18: Ted Harris, Don Awrey, Glen Gurrie, Dennis Seidenberg, Mikko Koskinen, Jamie Benn, Melker Karlsson, Victor Olofsson, Miro Heiskanen, and Ilya Protas.

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