CHN Daily
Jack’s Daily: Bedard Hurt; Vanacker Late Add For Canada; Wild Day of Trades
Friday night certainly could have gone better for the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only did the Hawks fall 3-2 to the rival St. Louis Blues, but star forward Connor Bedard suffered a right shoulder/arm injury with less than one second remaining in the game. Bedard headed off the ice in a hurry while clearly in serious pain. More in the links for the latest update from head coach Jeff Blashill on Chicago’s superstar.
With Bedard banged up, could the Blackhawks make a roster move ahead of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings? There’s one top prospect, in particular, who’s been knocking on the door for an NHL promotion.
Also in Blackhawks news, Marek Vanacker earned a late invitation to Team Canada’s World Juniors selection camp, while Laurent Brossoit scored a goalie goal in the AHL.
Around the league, it was an eventful day of trades. Despite not being rumored to be in the mix, the Minnesota Wild came out of nowhere to land 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers also swapped goaltenders earlier on Friday. In other news, Victor Hedman is set to miss six weeks for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: You’ve got to be kidding me. With just 0.8 seconds left on the clock, Connor Bedard was checked by Blues forward Brayden Schenn while the two were battling at the faceoff dot. Bedard’s arm appeared to twist awkwardly, and he immediately headed down the tunnel in discomfort. What a horrific night for the Blackhawks in St. Louis.
More CHN: Jeff Blashill didn’t provide much of an update on Bedard’s status after the game, but he did rule out the star forward for Saturday’s tilt against Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and the Detroit Red Wings. Is it time for GM Kyle Davidson to finally call up Nick Lardis from Rockford? Lardis leads all AHL rookies with 13 goals and 26 points through 24 games.
More CHN: After being left off the original 27-player roster when it was announced earlier in the week, Blackhawks 2024 first-round pick (No. 27 overall) Marek Vanacker was named as a late addition to Team Canada’s 2026 World Juniors selection camp on Friday afternoon. Vanacker still has work to do to crack Canada’s final roster, but he was deserving of the opportunity with 26 goals through 26 games in the Ontario Hockey League.
Also in Blackhawks news, goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who was playing in the final game of his AHL conditioning stint with the Rockford IceHogs, scored a goalie goal in a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals. What a moment it was for Brossoit, who spent over 500 days away from game action while rehabbing from multiple surgeries.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: OH. MY. GOODNESS. Recent reports suggested there wasn’t anything imminent on the Quinn Hughes trade front, but that clearly wasn’t the case. On Friday evening, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin made a blockbuster deal to acquire the superstar defenseman from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick. Once again, Guerin proved he’s not afraid to swing for the fences.
More Athletic: Here’s Michael Russo’s analysis on arguably the biggest trade in the Minnesota Wild’s franchise history. Adding Hughes cost the Wild a hefty price, but they’re now sitting pretty with Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, Jesper Wallstedt, and Hughes as the core of the team.
The Province: From the Canucks perspective, trading away Hughes, the best defenseman in team history, sounds the death knell for Vancouver’s core. Sure, the future is very bright after acquiring a slew of high-end prospects, but top-tier talent like Hughes doesn’t come around too often.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Of course, there was another trade earlier on Friday involving the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton shipped goalie Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin. Dan Kingerski provided all the key details and corresponding roster moves made by the Pens for PHN.
New Jersey Hockey Now: The New Jersey Devils appeared to be the front-runners to win Hughes sweepstakes, until Guerin jumped in and gave the Canucks an offer they couldn’t refuse. According to a report, the Devils made what they felt was a strong offer to Vancouver for Hughes, but it obviously didn’t get enough traction.
Forever Blueshirts: New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan finds himself between a rock and a hard place in deciding captain J.T. Miller’s status for Team USA’s Olympic roster. While Miller appeared to be a lock for the tournament entering the season, a lack of consistent production has created doubt about whether he deserves a spot on the team. What will Sullivan do?
NHL.com: Some brutal news for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Top defenseman and 2018 Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman will undergo a procedure on his elbow on Monday and is expected to miss six weeks. On the bright side, Hedman should be back to play for Team Sweden in the Olympics.
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