Morning Chirps: Marner & Robertson Chatter Intensifying, Stanley Cup Final Fines

The weeks leading up to the NHL Entry Draft and free agency usually mean a plethora of juicy rumors, and this year is not disappointing in that department. How aggressive will the Chicago Blackhawks be this offseason? We’ll find out over the next few weeks, but some big names are out there for the right price.

Blackhawks Chirps

• For Plus Members: players like Mitch Marner rarely hit free agency for a reason. That’s why the Blackhawks need to do everything they can to bring him to Chicago. Use the promo code Greg10 to save $10 on a yearly membership! You’ll get ad-free browsing and access to insider content here and throughout the National Hockey Network.
• I’m putting together another Blackhawks Q&A for later in the week. I’ve already received a ton of great questions, but if you want to add yours, throw it in the comments.
• June 11 saw some big moments in the history of the Blackhawks. In 1969, the Blackhawks made a franchise-altering pick in the annual Intra-League Draft. They paid $25,000 to claim rookie goaltender Tony Esposito from the Montreal Canadiens. He won a career-high 38 games, set an NHL record with 15 shutouts, and won both the Calder and Vezina Trophies in the 1969-70 season. He still leads the franchise with 873 games played, 418 wins, and 74 shutouts.
• In 1980, the Blackhawks used the third overall pick of the NHL Entry Draft to select future Hall of Famer Denis Savard. The hits kept coming as they took Troy Murray in the third round (57th overall) and Steve Larmer in the sixth round (120^th overall). This trio combined for 870 goals and 2,507 points in 2,460 games for the Blackhawks. Not a bad draft class, if I do say so myself.
• Eight years later, the Blackhawks selected Jeremy Roenick with the eighth overall pick of the NHL Entry Draft. He scored 267 goals and 596 points in his eight seasons in Chicago before being traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996.
• In 1992, the Blackhawks named Darryl Sutter the 29^th head coach in franchise history, replacing Mike Keenan.
• Finally, in 1995, the Blackhawks’ playoff run ended in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Vyacheslav Kozlov scored at 2:25 of the second overtime to send the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1966. It was his eighth goal of the playoffs and fourth game-winner.

NHL Chirps

• Canadiens defenseman Lane Hudson was named the Calder Trophy winner for being the best rookie of the 2024-25 season. He beat out Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf and San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini for the honor. He broke Chris Chelios’ franchise records for a rookie blueliner with 60 assists and 66 points. Marc Dumont of Montreal Hockey Now writes that Hutson has set the bar for the Canadiens’ rebuild. Meanwhile, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic expects the Columbus Blue Jackets to be in on Marner, too. This comes on the heels of a report from James Mirtle that the Anaheim Ducks are considering offering Marner over $14 million a season, making him the NHL’s highest-paid player.
• Marner will be a hot topic until he signs with a team on July 1. Jeff Marek said on The Sheet that the Carolina Hurricanes make the most sense to land Marner’s services.
• The Jason Robertson trade rumors will not go away, and Frank Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff Live that there is “smoke” to the rumors. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on SN590 AM that Robertson’s name has floated around in trade talks, but it’s not guaranteed he’s moved. He said a trade is possible to make room for a Mikael Granlund extension if Matt Dumba or Ilya Lyubushkin can’t be shipped out. Jim Nill is one of the best general managers in the game, but trading Robertson to keep Granlund sounds like a very stupid idea.
• After all the altercations and big hits in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, squirting a water bottle got the most punishment. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jake Walman earned two $5,000 fines; one for roughing Matthew Tkachuk, and the other for unsportsmanlike conduct, i.e., squirting a water bottle towards the Florida bench.