Two Blackhawks players were on the ice Sunday, trying to end a 92-year drought for the United States. Yes, it had been 92 years since the USA won gold at the IIHF Men’s World Championship.
That “How Long Has It Been Since” sign in the USA Hockey Office has been reset to zero now! Thanks to an overtime game-winning goal from Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, the United States won gold. Blackhawks Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic were on the ice for the Star Spangled Banner to be played with gold medals around their necks, which was awesome to watch this Memorial Day weekend.
- Vlasic had a solid tournament, starting on the second defensive pair and moving to the third once Zach Werenski joined the roster. He averaged 16:35 per game and was credited with two assists in 10 games.
- Nazar finished the tournament with 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 10 games. He spent most of the tournament on the right wing, and the most of the knockout round skating on the USA’s second line with Matty Beniers and Thompson. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nazar threw his name into the mix for the 2026 Winter Olympics at this tournament. His speed was a game-changer, his offense was as good as any on the USA roster and he also killed penalties. If the Blackhawks were hoping to see the same confident Nazar when training camp starts in September, they likely won’t be disappointed if he’s even more confident after this tournament.
- With the Blackhawks introducing new head coach Jeff Blashill at the United Center tomorrow morning, I saved a few articles about him for the holiday. Here’s a good one to start from Scott Powers at The Athletic with comments from people around the league. Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito called it a “10-star hire” and went on to say:
What people around the NHL are saying about Blackhawks hiring Jeff Blashill as coachhttps://t.co/pjqz5rheAV
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) May 25, 2025
- Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune wrote about Blashill getting a second chance as a head coach in the NHL, something that has generally seen improvement in the performance of the coach and the record of the team he’s managing. Good comments from our buddy Eddie Olczyk about some other coaches who struggled in their first NHL gig, including Mike Sullivan. Edzo pionts out Sullivan failed in his first try and then spent almost a full decade as an assistant before getting the head coaching job in Pittsburgh.
- And here’s what Ben Pope wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times about the mixed reaction from Blackhawks fans upon hearing about the hiring of Blashill, and the expectations to see an upward trajectory soon in Chicago.
- The Florida Panthers can finish a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in the Eastern Conference Final. The puck drops shortly after 7 PM CT on TNT.
- Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman scored twice each and the Edmonton Oilers took a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Stars with a 6-1 win on Sunday afternoon.
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- Finally, today is Memorial Day. My family has a long line of service in the military in the US and Britain, and some of my best friends are currently serving or have served. And I have lost a few friends and former teammates in the line of duty. Today, I’m thinking about the family of Gunnar Hotchkin, my teammate on the swim team at Hinsdale Central who lost his life in Afghanistan one week after the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010.
I want to start this morning with a few comments about the Blackhawks’ coaching staff moving forward. First, new Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill was on CHGO yesterday and had a lot of good things to say. This clip the guys shared is a good reminder that, as much as we might want them to hurry up and get better faster, it’s easy to screw up a rebuild.
Blashill has absolutely knocked it out of the park with the crew he has joining him in Chicago. We’ve talked about Michael Peca for a few days now; to me, he was Nick Foligno 20 years ago. Terrific player (two-time Selke winner), great leader, well respected, played the game the right way. He’s worked with young players previously and been in a big market with the Rangers. Smart player turned smart coach. He’s got the chops and a record on the back of his hockey card that earns respect eeeeeemmediately (as Edzo would say).
The addition of Mike Vellucci is another great get for the Blackhawks. I liked his chops enough to profile him three years ago as a potential head coach candidate before the Hawks hired Luke Richardson. He’s won at every level, developed players in the Pittsburgh organization and been on the bench with a terrific coach in Mike Sullivan. Importantly, both Peca and Velluci have worked with superstar players in the NHL. And they’ve been around winners.
Add in Anders Sorensen and the way the players talked about him at the end of the Blackhawks’ season — especially the young guys — and the Blackhawks appear to have a terrific group of coaches to lead the team into the next steps of the building process. If you weren’t initially sold on Blashill being the guy, his staff should bolster your confidence now.
- Good read here from Scott Powers on why Jon Cooper thinks Blashill is the right guy for the Blackhawks.
Why Jon Cooper thinks Jeff Blashill will succeed with the Blackhawks
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) May 28, 2025
- The Florida Panthers celebrated on the ice in Carolina last night. For the third consecutive year, the Florida Panthers will play in the Stanley Cup Final. For the sixth consecutive year, a team from Florida has won the Eastern Conference. I see a lot of folks — especially in Canada — complaining about the “unfair” advantage the teams in Florida have because there’s no state income tax. My kneejerk reaction to those comments: what was the advantage the Blackhawks and Kings had between 2010 and 2016? Maybe they just have better front offices and coaches and players?
- The Panthers advancing to the Stanley Cup Final means the Panthers giving up their 2026 first-round pick for Seth Jones and their 2027 first-round pick for Brad Marchand is this much closer to being worth it. Here’s hoping they win another championship this year — and then wind up giving the Blackhawks a pick somewhere in the early 20s next year.
- Earlier this morning I looked at how mock drafts are changing constantly with regards to the Blackhawks’ pick at No. 3 in the 2025 NHL Draft. In the new mock that dropped at The Athletic yesterday, they have the Blackhawks selecting Malcolm Spence at No. 25 with the pick from Toronto.
- In case you missed it, here’s the link to my spot on “Good Day Chicago” on Fox 32 in Chicago on Wednesday morning talking about Connor Bedard and the future of the Blackhawks.
- And now this beauty from Alex Vlasic on Instagram:
- An interesting rumor/report here: by now you’ve likely heard/read Marco Rossi may be available this summer as the Wild figure out their long-term financial situation. This report suggests the Blackhawks are at least intrigued by the 23-year-old center. I’m not sprinting to give up assets for a 5-9 forward, even if he’s scored 21 and 24 goals, respectively, in the last two seasons. But Rossi’s a good player. My preference is that he finds a nice new home in the Eastern Conference.
- Some fairly big news from the CHL. After years of partnering with CCM, the league(s) are moving on to Under Armour and Bauer beginning with the 2025-26 season. UA will handle jerseys and outfitting; Bauer will handle equipment.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced their captain, Adam Lowry, had hip surgery on Tuesday. His expected rehab timeline is 5-6 months. Which (counts on fingers) is into the start of the 2025-26 regular season.
- Another big blow to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. Blashill left the bench for the Blackhawks. Mathieu Darche left to become the general manager of the New York Islanders. And, now, Stacy Roest has also departed. Roest was the director of player development in Tampa and had been with the club for 12 years. Could he be following Darche to Long Island?
- The Utah Mammoth locked up a couple prospects who… well, live up to the team’s new name.
- Finally, happy 12th anniversary to an absolute beauty. One of the biggest, greatest, most significant shots in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. Brent Seabrook sent the Detroit Red Wings to the Eastern Conference with an L at the United Center. I still believe Niklas Hjalmarsson‘s shot should have counted, but this was one of the top five most electric moments of the dynasty era. I was there. And I’m still shocked there was no damage to the roof of the building when this puck went in. I miss playoff hockey in Chicago.
On this day in 2013…
Brent Seabrook. Overtime Hero.
(@NBCSports) pic.twitter.com/3i6coOQKpu
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) May 29, 2025
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- Bears quarterback Caleb Williams did a good job of taking some recent reports about him head-on with the media yesterday.
- John Denver wouldn’t be happy about the Rockies, who were swept by the Cubs.
- The Chicago Sky will retire Candace Parker’s jersey.
It appears the comeback for the longest tenured captain in Blackhawks history is officially a go. Jonathan Toews is reportedly ready to go.
Pierre LeBrun tweeted on Thursday afternoon that Toews has given his agent, Pat Brisson, the green light to engage NHL teams about his return.
While it would be amazing to see Toews finish his career only ever wearing a single sweater in the NHL, it’s hard to imagine the Blackhawks would entertain the comeback at this point in the rebuild. The current front office committed to creating space for this generation to create its own culture, and that is on track. With a new head coach, bringing back Captain Serious feels like a nearly impossible ask.
But here’s hoping Toews is indeed healthy and ready to come back to remind everyone just how good he is — and helping his future team win (just not at the expense of the Blackhawks, please).
We’ve been talking — and will continue to talk — about the Blackhawks potentially spending some bigger money on higher profile players this summer. I’ve asked if this is the right summer to go big. We’ve talked about some of the available free agents and their potential fits in Chicago. Everyone wants the Blackhawks to be better soon, and even if we can agree with both GM Kyle Davidson and new head coach Jeff Blashill when they say you can’t rush development, that doesn’t keep us from dreaming about playoff hockey at the United Center.
So I present this terrific piece from Rachel Doerrie at ESPN for a couple reasons. First, there’s been a lot of talk recently about the Lightning and Panthers running the Eastern Conference because of their tax advantages (is it real? Yes. Is it a convenient excuse for teams that can’t beat them? Hell yes!). Second, there’s a cautionary tale we can take away from the failed Toronto Maple Leafs. The coming years are going to be the hardest tests for the Blackhawks’ front office because they need to plan years in advance and spend wisely on their internal free agents — some of whom need a decision from the organization already this month.
Really good read for Blackhawks fans here.
- You can cancel the Ilya Safonov welcome parties. He signed another one-year deal with the Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL.
- The Blackhawks are going to share more information and some interior images of the expansion of Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday.
- I’m not sold on the Blackhawks mortgaging significant draft assets in 2026 on an offer sheet this summer (read: no $7M+ deals thrown around for JJ Peterka or Matthew Knies). BUT I wouldn’t be mad at all if they made a play for Rangers RFA forward Will Cuylle. I’ve mentioned his name before. The more I watch him, the more I want to see him on a line with AJ Spellacy wrecking things in a couple years. Would I give up the Hawks’ second-round pick in 2026 to get him? Yeah, probably.
- Good on the Florida Panthers for being a top notch organization. Class all around. Maybe, just maybe, the fact that they spend time between the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final on things like this is why there’s a line around the block to play there?
- The decimation of the CHL continues as more top prospects commit to NCAA programs. The latest: 2025 draft-eligible goaltender Jack Ivankovic is headed to Michigan (per reports).
- With that in mind, John Buccigross of ESPN has been on a heater this summer with his predictions. If projected 2026 No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna winds up at Michigan State??
- The Colorado Avalanche announced late this week that they have signed goaltender Ilya Nabokov to a two-year, entry-level contract. He was the first goaltender selected in the 2024 NHL Draft.
- David Pagnotta at The Fourth Period reported San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy and Milwaukee Admirals head coach Karl Taylor signed extensions with their AHL clubs this past week.
- The end of Jake Oettinger’s season was ugly. And controversial. So everyone was waiting to see how he handled his end-of-season media. I would say he did about as well (likely better) than many expected. Well done here.
Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger's full end-of-season media availability:#TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/bux8L7fntH
— DLLS Stars (@DLLS_Stars) May 31, 2025
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- Hey the Cubs shutout the Reds yesterday.
I have seen some comments on social media in recent days wondering why the Blackhawks “haven’t done anything” with some of their internal restricted and unrestricted free agents yet.
The biggest name people have wondered about — since the trade deadline — is forward Ryan Donato, who is coming off the best season of his career. But the Blackhawks have some RFAs to deal with, too. Wyatt Kaiser, Louis Crevier and Arvid Söderblom top that list.
It would make sense for the Blackhawks to hire a new head coach and staff before beginning the process of negotiating with their internal free agents.
Now that Jeff Blashill has been hired, the process can begin with him and his new staff to evaluate the returning roster the Blackhawks have and how the internal free agents could work in the new systems. The organization also needs to consider their targets on the open market and trade options between now and the 2025 NHL Draft.
Blackhawks Roster Evaluation
Blashill was quick to remind us that rebuilds need to be patient and give prospects time to develop. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has preached that from his first day on the job. And GMKD has also been incredibly intentional with his roster construction over the past couple years to not sign players who might block prospects from coming up tot he NHL in the coming years.
But every indication is now is a time for the Blackhawks to make an effort to make a splash and find a more significant player to complement Connor Bedard and help elevate his game to another level. With all due respect to Donato, Ilya Mikheyev and Philipp Kurashev, if the Blackhawks want to see Bedard reclaim his “generational prospect” label and make his immense talent more productive on the back of his hockey cards, the Blackhawks have to find better player(s) to play with the face of their franchise.
With that being said, the Blackhawks still need to surround their young players with the right veterans who are going to support Blashill’s efforts to develop a winning culture in Chicago. And it speaks well to the organization’s development process to reward young players when they’ve earned another contract.
Donato worked his ass off to get better in the areas that were limiting him and the dividends were a huge offensive season. He doesn’t take a shift off. It’s easy to look at him and say he’s the right kind of guy to support the building process. But he also has to want to accept the best offer the Blackhawks put on the table. If Donato opts to test the market on July 1, that’s his choice and shouldn’t be viewed as a negative for the Blackhawks.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The intrigue for me is what the Blackhawks do with the three RFAs I named. Kaiser is clearly ready to be an NHL defenseman. The question is whether that’s in Chicago or elsewhere; the Blackhawks have a pretty stocked depth chart on the back end.
If the Blackhawks view Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov as full-time NHL players next year, that complicates the path to regular ice time for Crevier on the right side. If the new coaching staff and front office like the way Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan complement their mix on the left side moving forward and see Kevin Korchinski as NHL-ready, that makes finding a spot on the left side for Kaiser harder to do. Alex Vlasic isn’t going anywhere.
The situation in net is even more troublesome. Laurent Brossoit has one more year on his contract but didn’t see a single minute of NHL action all of last year. Meanwhile, Söderblom showed big strides forward in his development. Either of them would figure to be backing up Spencer Knight moving forward with Drew Commesso definitely in the mix in the near future.
Hiring a head coach is the catalyst to begin evaluating how and where some of these players might fit into the 2025-26 Blackhawks roster. But answering those questions is where the collaboration between the new coaching staff and the front office needs to crank into high gear in the coming weeks.
