Morning Chirps: ‘Significant Push’ for Peterka, Zegras Traded to Flyers

We’ve got an extended version of Morning Chirps for you this Tuesday morning. The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to make a big trade, but have not come up with the right offer yet. There is still a ton of mystery surrounding the third overall pick. June 24 is also a busy day in Blackhawks history, including 17 unforgettable seconds in Bean Town! Plus, a young gun from the Western Conference is heading east after a big trade.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Václav Nestrašil has possibly played his way into the first round of this week’s NHL Entry Draft. Find out why the Blackhawks are reported high on him in his Draft Profile.
• The Rockford IceHogs re-signed captain Brett Seney to a two-year AHL contract. He was previously on a one-way NHL contract. In his three seasons with the IceHogs, he has 56 goals and 146 points in 185 games. The organization loves the leadership he brings to their prospect group, or he wouldn’t be returning for two more seasons.
• Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Blackhawks put a significant push on Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka. He thinks they’ve offered the third overall pick, but the Sabres wanted more. Overall, he said it’s a long shot that the Blackhawks move the No. 3 pick, but a lot can change over the next four days.
• Who the San Jose Sharks pick at No. 2 on Friday has become a big mystery. On the latest episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman says he’s heard the rumor that the Sharks will go with Anton Frondell, but added that “everybody lies” this time of year. Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now has made the case against picking Frondell at two.
• On this date in 1976, Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr signed with the Blackhawks after 11 seasons with the Bruins. Unfortunately, his best days were behind him as knee injuries limited him to just 26 games in a Blackhawks uniform over two seasons.
• In 1993, the Expansion Draft was held in Quebec City, QC, with the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim each selecting one player from every NHL team. Steve Larmer, Joe Murphy, Jeremy Roenick, and Ed Belfour were among the Blackhawks’ protected players. They lost defenseman Milan Tichy to Florida and winger Stu Grimson to Anaheim.
• In 2000, the Calgary Flames hosted the NHL Entry Draft. The Blackhawks had an unspectacular draft, to say the least. They took Mikhail Yakubov and Pavel Vorobiev with the 10^th and 11^th overall picks. The Russian duo combined for 12 goals and 34 points in 97 games for the Blackhawks. The remaining 13 players selected played in 76 NHL games.
• Six years later, the NHL Entry Draft was held in Vancouver. After Erik Johnson was taken first overall by the St. Louis Blues and Jordan Staal went second to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dale Tallon selected center Jonathan Toews out of the University of North Dakota. No explanation is needed on how vital this draft pick was to the future success of this organization. No other pick from this class ever played for the Blackhawks, but adding the greatest captain in team history makes up for that and then some!
• In 2011, the Minnesota Wild hosted the draft. The Blackhawks had a reasonably successful draft. They used their two first-round picks on Mark McNeill (18^th overall) and Phillip Danault (26^th overall). Brandon Saad was the second of two second-round picks after defenseman Adam Clendening. Andrew Shaw was taken in the fifth round (139^th overall).
• Two years later, the Blackhawks won their second Stanley Cup in four seasons by beating the Boston Bruins 3-2 in one of the most memorable playoff games ever. Toews tied the game at 1-1 with an unassisted goal early in the second period. Milan Lucic put the Bruins up 2-1 with less than eight minutes to play. It started to look like the series was coming back to Chicago for a seventh and final game, then Bryan Bickell tied the game at 18:44. The Blackhawks won the ensuing faceoff, and 17 seconds later, Dave Bolland stunned the Boston crowd by scoring the Cup-clinching goal. Patrick Kane was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring nine goals and 19 points during the postseason.

• In 2016, the NHL Entry Draft occurred in Buffalo, NY. The Blackhawks did not have a first-round pick as it was traded to the Winnipeg Jets at the deadline to reacquire Andrew Ladd. They hit a home run with their first of three second-round picks when they took Alex DeBrincat with the 39th overall pick. The rest of the draft class has not panned out so well, as the other eight players combined for 77 NHL games. Defenseman Lucas Carlsson played 73 games, while Blake Hillman had the other four.
• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, June 24: Johnny Gottselig, Dave Creighton, Tom Reid, Bernie Nicholls, Gary Suter, and Jean-Yves Leroux.

NHL Chirps

• Monday started with Friedman reporting that several teams were having “significant discussions” about acquiring Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks. A couple of hours later, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick. William James had the immediate hometown reaction for Philly Hockey News. Personally, I was looking forward to hearing Joel Quenneville say “we need more” about Zegras this season, as his defensive habits drive him crazy. This certainly was not a great return for the Ducks, who waited until Zegras hit his lowest value to move him. He certainly would have fetched more had they moved him last summer. Zegras is the seventh player of the top 10 picks from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to be traded. Only Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte, and Moritz Seider remain with the clubs that drafted them.
• Per Kristen Shilton of ESPN, the Toronto Maple Leafs want to add down the middle this summer. They have expressed interest in Mikael Granlund and former Blackhawk Pius Suter.  
• Let’s set the record for most Suters mentioned in one post, shall we? St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters he will not re-sign veteran defenseman Ryan Suter. The 40-year-old has spent his entire career in the Central Division playing for the Nashville Predators, Wild, Dallas Stars, and Blues. Even if he doesn’t sign on with a new team, he will still make $2.26 million from his contract buyouts by the Wild and Stars. Minnesota owes Suter $833,000 a year until 2028-29. That’s good work if you can get it.
• The Bruins signed defenseman Mason Lohrei to a two-year bridge deal worth $3.2 million per season. That seems like an overpay for a blueliner who was a minus-43 last season. But as Boston Hockey Now’s Andrew Fantucchio points out, Lohrei has tremendous offensive potential.
• NHL Birthday Roll Call, June 24: Wayne Cashman, Uwe Krupp, Shane Churla, Jere Lehtinen, Jarret Stoll, Michael Del Zotta, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Vasily Podkolzin.