Blackhawks Daily: Misiak Signs ELC; Panthers Even It Up

On Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks made some news as they signed forward prospect Martin Misiak. It is a three-year deal that will kick in at the start of the 2024-25 season whether Misiak returns to junior (Erie Otters) or not.

Misiak was a second-round pick made by Chicago in the 2023 NHL Draft. He is now the third player from that class to already sign their ELC with the Hawks (Connor Bedard, Nick Lardis).Not all of these guys are going to hit but the Hawks are hoping to turn most of them into good NHL players. They are all going to get their chance to prove themselves and Misiak will be no different. The potential is there for Martin Misiak–and now he has the peace of mind of a deal that allows him to try and make his way to Chicago.

In other prospects news, San Jose Hockey Now reported on Monday, the San Jose Sharks announced that they are signing Will Smith to his entry-level contract.

Smith was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and was incredible during his freshman year at Boston College. As they prepare to select Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) with the first overall pick in 2024, they will have another great player from the Battle of Comm Ave.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers took on the Florida Panthers in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers came in with a 2-1 lead so Florida would either tie it up or go down 3-1 which is never easy to come back from. To say that game three was big would be an understatement.

It started well for the Rangers as they took a 1-0 lead in the game thanks to another goal by Vincent Trochek. Their leading goal-scorer was at it again as he’s been sensational in both the regular season and playoffs. The Cats broke through when Sam Bennett tied it up on a big-effort play. He was able to beat Igor Shesterkin with a little bit of luck and high-octane play.

Not long after that, Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers and they took a 2-1 lead. Florida was now looking dominant and they went into the second intermission with that same score.

With 20 minutes left in the game, the third period started and the Rangers went to work. Eventually, Adam Fox made a brilliant play to send an airborne pass to the net-mouth. Alexis Lafreniere found it in mid-air and banked it in off of Sergei Bobrovsky. The game was then tied at two.

From there, the game was destined for overtime. In the extra frame, the Panthers were rewarded with a power play. The Florida Panthers didn’t mess up their opportunity as they won it 3-2. Brandon Montour and Sasha Barkov each made brilliant one-touch passes and that set up Sam Reinhart for a beautiful shot that beat Shesterkin.

Reinhart is having one of the best single seasons in the history of the franchise which is 30 years old. If this continues for him the rest of the way, it may end with some extra hardware.

Game five of the series will be on Thursday night back in New York. One team will take a 3-2 series lead back to Florida with a chance to close it out.

On Wednesday night, game four of the Western Conference Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars will take place in Edmonton. Just like in the East, one team will enter game four looking to tie and the other will be looking for a 3-1 series lead.

Blackhawks In Case You Missed It

Kyle Davidson traded the Chicago Blackhawks from 20 to 18 in the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot riding on that mid-first-round pick—a look historically at what it can generate and potential players who were taken in that range.

Connor Bedard is a generational superstar that the Chicago Blackhawks must build around.

Hockey Now Network

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