Chicago Blackhawks
Morning Chirps: David Carle Update, West Playoff Matchups Set
Today is day one of the Chicago Blackhawks’ offseason. This will be a very important summer with a coaching hire, another top-four draft pick, and hopefully some key additions to the roster. We will keep you up to date on all the news all summer long.
Blackhawks Chirps
- After last night’s win against the Ottawa Senators, points be damned, this was a successful season when it comes to the big picture.
- Frank Seravalli made some interesting comments regarding the Blackhawks’ coaching search on CHSN’s pregame show last night:
“The Hawks have had about five months to put their list together, and there’s one name at the very top that’s been circled, that has separated himself from the rest of the pack, and that’s David Carle from Denver University.”
- Seravalli added that if the Blackhawks don’t hire Carle, they will take their time in searching for the new bench boss.
- Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times talked to Alex Vlasic about his offseason plans. He said he would work on his conditioning, among other things.
- Nick Lardis was unavailable for the Brantford Bulldogs in their 7-2 Game 3 loss to the Oshawa Generals. Marek Vanacker had an assist in the losing effort. Meanwhile, Oshawa’s Andrew Gibson was suspended for two games for the hit that injured Lardis near the end of Game 2. There has been no update on the severity of the injury.
- On this date in 1961, the Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup since 1938 by beating the Red Wings 5-1 in Game 6 of the Final. The Cup-clinching victory came at the old Olympia, and it was the only win by a road team in the series.
- On April 16, 1998, Chris Cheilos became the 128th player in NHL history to suit up for 1,000 games. He played in another 651 games before retiring in 2010, the ninth-most all-time and second-most among defensemen.
IceHogs Chirps
- The Rockford IceHogs named Drew Commesso as the team’s winner of the AHL Man of the Year Award for outstanding contributions to the Rockford community during the 2024-25 season. He is now one of 32 finalists for the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star, who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner will be announced later this month.
NHL Chirps
- There was a strange moment in last Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, when linesman James Tobias tripped up Nikolaj Ehlers. According to head coach Scott Arniel, Ehlers is week-to-week heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Gabriel Landeskog’s AHL conditioning stint is over, and he is returning to the Colorado Avalanche. He will remain on long-term injured reserve until the regular season concludes. He will then be eligible to return for Game 1 of Colorado’s first-round series against the Dallas Stars.
- According to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, the Toronto Maple Leafs are uncertain when former Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe will be available for the playoffs.
- Speaking of the playoffs, the Western Conference side of the brackets is set. The Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues clinched Wild Card spots with victories. The first-round matchups include the Jets vs. Blues, Avalanche vs. Stars, Vegas Golden Knights vs. Wild, and Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers.
- Three of the four Eastern Conference first-round matchups are set with the Maple Leafs vs. Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils. The Washington Capitals will play either the Montreal Canadiens or Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canadiens can clinch the final spot with a point against the Hurricanes tonight. If they lose in regulation, the Blue Jackets can get in by beating the New York Islanders in regulation.
