Morning Chirps: Jones Trade Recation, Prospects Stay Hot

After making a big trade, the Chicago Blackhawks went out and won their first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off Break. The Rockford IceHogs also got back into the win column, while some of the top prospects stayed hot in the amateur ranks. Plus, two division rivals made trades on a busy Saturday.

Blackhawks Chirps

• After the big news broke, the Blackhawks got a huge night from their special teams in a big 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
• Defenseman Seth Jones wanted to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he will now get that chance playing for the Florida Panthers. It was surprising how fast this came together, and getting a first-round pick and Spencer Knight is a quality return.
• George Richards of Florida Hockey Now has the Panthers’ perspective of Saturday’s big trade.
• General manager Kyle Davidson appeared on CHSN’s pregame show and shared his thoughts on the Jones trade.

• Nick Lardis just keeps on scoring. He had the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Brantford Bulldogs to a 4-3 win over the Peterborough Petes. Earlier in the day, Lardis was named the OHL Player of the Month after scoring 21 goals in 11 games during February.

• Oliver Moore had a three-point night in the University of Minnesota’s 5-3 victory against Penn State. After recording assists on the first two goals, he capped off the night with an empty net. Moore has 11 goals and 30 points in 34 games. The Golden Gophers clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season championship with the win. After losing the tiebreaker to Michigan State, they will be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. They will host No. 7 Notre Dame in a best-of-three series starting on Friday.
• Sacha Boisvert stayed hot in helping the University of North Dakota beat Western Michigan 4-3 in overtime. He extended his goal streak to four games by evening the score in the final minute of regulation.

IceHogs Chirps

• The Blackhawks weren’t the only team to end their losing streak Saturday night, as the IceHogs snapped their three-game skid by beating the Tucson Roadrunners 3-2 in overtime. Former Roadrunner Zach Sanford was the hero by the first goal before winning the game in extra time. Defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin had the other Rockford goal, while prospects Louis Crevier and Gavin Hayes recorded assists. Drew Commesso made 26 saves for his first win since Jan. 17.

• The IceHogs will begin a four-game homestand by hosting the Iowa Wild on Friday and the Texas Stars on Saturday.

 NHL Chirps

• The Blackhawks weren’t the only team to pull off a trade on Saturday. The Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Ryan Lindgren, forward Jimmy Vesey, and prospect blueliner Hank Kempf from the New York Rangers for Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen, a conditional second-round pick, and a conditional fourth-round pick. Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now pondered if this move was enough to put the Avalanche over the top.
• The Minnesota Wild acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick. Nashville will retain 50 percent of Nyquist’s contract. One would think this trade should raise the trade value for Ryan Donato, who scored his 20^th and 21^st goals of the season last night.
• Connor McDavid picked up his 700^th career assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He only needed 699 games to hit this milestone. Only two players in NHL history required fewer games to record 700 assists: Wayne Gretzky (478) and Mario Lemieux (579).