Morning Chirps: Vanacker cut, Ex-Blackhawk gaining interest on the trade market

The Chicago Blackhawks took a train from Montreal to Ottawa last night. They are scheduled to practice this afternoon. Hopefully, they will be doing plenty of shooting drills as they will need more pucks on the net if they want any chance of ending the road trip with a victory.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks' refusal to shoot the puck did them in again, as they fell 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens. Head coach Jeff Blashill had some pointed words after the game, directed towards everyone on his bench.

• Todd Matthews writes that Andre Burakovsky and Teuvo Teravainen are the two most guilty parties when it comes to passing up shooting opportunities. They need to start getting the puck to the net if this team wants to get out of its offensive funk.

• Marek Vanacker won’t be representing Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championships. He was cut from the tournament roster along with Brantford Bulldogs’ teammate Jake O’Brien and Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect Jackson Smith. Vanacker and O’Brien play on the same line in Brantford. Vanacker leads the OHL with 26 goals, while O’Brien is second in overall scoring with 46 points. Not sure why you wouldn’t want that kind of chemistry on your team.

• Defenseman Ty Henry has committed to the University of St. Thomas, a Division I school in St. Paul, MN. The 2024 sixth-round draft pick hasn’t played for the Erie Otters this season due to a significant leg injury during rookie camp. He’ll move to the NCAA ranks next season as he’ll be too old for the OHL.

• On this date in 1969, Tony Esposito recorded the fifth shutout of his historic rookie season by blanking the Oakland Seals 4-0.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 19: Ken Brown, Behn Wilson, Eric Weinrich, Robert Lang, and Carter Hutton.

NHL Chirps

• Former Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev was placed on injured reserve by the San Jose Sharks with a long-term upper-body injury. However, according to Curtis Pashelka, he should be ready play for Switzerland at the Winter Olympics in early February.

• Speaking of former Blackhawks, goaltender Petr Mrazek was activated off injured reserve by the Anaheim Ducks. He’d been out since suffering a lower-body injury at the United Center on Nov. 30.

• Ex-Blackhawks is the theme this morning, as Phillip Danault’s name has been circulated in the trade rumor mill. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Utah Mammoth have all expressed interest in acquiring the center. The 32-year-old has no goals and five assists in 30 games for the Los Angeles Kings this season. He carries a $5.5 million salary cap hit that goes through the end of next season.

• The Edmonton Oilers thought they fixed their goaltending problems by acquiring Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins. His first two starts weren’t great, with a 3.50 goals-against average (GAA) and .879 save percentage (SV%), but the Oilers won both games. He left last night’s 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins with an apparent lower-body injury. Head coach Kris Knoblauch did not have an update on his status after the game.

• The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 4-0 to the Washington Capitals last night. After the game, head coach Craig Berube questioned his team’s passion and told reporters to ask the players why they played without urgency. Ouch! Quotes like this make you wonder how much longer Berube will be behind the bench.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 19: Doug Harvey, Ron Schook, Behn Wilson, Matt Stajan, Will Borgen, and Brad Lambert.