Morning Chirps: Seth Jones Rumors Ramp Up After Taylor Hall Trade

Friday night was a wild time at the United Center. Most of the action took place off the ice as the Chicago Blackhawks helped broker the biggest trade of the NHL season. The team will be back on the ice for another practice this morning before they host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Taylor Hall is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. And so is Mikko Rantanen! Get the full trade details here.
• Oh, and there was a game to report on, too! The Blackhawks blew another two-goal lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it felt different because the youngsters made all the difference.
• Last week, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Blackhawks have received calls on defenseman Seth Jones despite the team not actively shopping him. This led Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report to come up with five possible landing spots for Jones. He thinks the Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and Washington Capitals make the most sense. With the salary cap on the rise over the next couple of years, Jones’ $9.5 million cap hit will not be as big of strain on a team as it once was. The returns Richardson suggests are pretty good. I still don’t think Jones gets traded at the deadline; these complex deals usually happen in the offseason. But you never know if another team will make a deal too good to refuse.
• Jan. 25 has been a fun date in Blackhawks history. In 1964, Phil Esposito scored the first of his 717 NHL goals in a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
• On Jan. 25, 1994, Jeremy Roenick scored his 200^th career goal, while Ed Belfour earned his 20^th career shutout in a 5-0 win over the Red Wings.
• One year later, the Blackhawks played their first game at the United Center, beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1. Joe Murphy became the answer to a trivia question by scoring the first goal in the new building.

NHL Chirps

• Trading Rantanen was a calculated and risky move by the Avalanche. Colorado Hockey News’ Aarit Deen gave his thoughts on the blockbuster trade.
• The New York Islanders signed embattled defenseman Tony DeAngelo on Friday. He’s been in the headlines for the wrong reasons in his career. Between altercations with teammates, an overactive social media account, and poor play on the ice, he’s managed to run himself out of every locker room he’s been in. Will the Islanders be different? Probably not.
• The New Jersey Devils will be without goaltender Jacob Markstrom for 4-6 weeks. His sprained knee will keep him out of the Four Nations Faceoff. James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now shared the goaltending plans going forward. Could the Blackhawks offer up a slightly used Petr Mrazek?
• Cole Perfetti scored his first NHL hat trick to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club. Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists to become the first Danish-born player in NHL history to score 500 points.