Tag: Chicago Blackhawks

Former Spartan defenceman Duncan Keith is on the trade block

Former Spartan defenceman Duncan Keith is on the trade block

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Duncan Keith has spent his entire 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks, but it looks like that is coming to an end very soon. Rumors came out the past few days that Chicago is working on trading him to either the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada.

Keith spent two seasons with the Spartans before being selected by the Blackhawks in the second round (54th overall) in the 2002 NHL Draft. Keith scored six goals and recorded 18 assists in 56 games with the Spartans.

Keith spent two seasons with the AHL affiliate team Norfolk Admirals before being called up to the Blackhawks in 2005. Keith has since had a very successful career.

Keith has played in 1,192 games, scored 105 goals and recorded 520 assists. He has made the All-Star Game in 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2017, won two Winter Olympics Gold medals, and won three Stanley Cup Championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Individual awards he has won include the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2010 and 2014, the NHL First All-Star Team in 2010 and 2014, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2015.

Keep an eye out for Duncan Keith to be on the move within the coming weeks.

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Odds for all 31 NHL teams to capture the Stanley Cup

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Former Notre Dame Players in NHL to Begin 2020-21 Season

The NHL finally drops the puck on its 2020-21 season Wednesday. With COVID-19 still running rampant, this will be a season unlike any other.

The NHL finally drops the puck on its 2020-21 season Wednesday. With COVID-19 still running rampant, this will be a season unlike any other. Teams will play 56 games in divisions that drastically have been realigned for the season, and teams will not play outside their respective divisions. But no matter which team you root for, there will be plenty of players who suited up for Notre Dame before they ascended to hockey’s highest level.

Landon Slaggert Wins Gold With Team USA at World Junior Championship

Landon Slaggert is in the middle of his first season at Notre Dame, and it’s already been memorable.

Landon Slaggert is in the middle of his first season at Notre Dame, and it’s already been memorable. As thrilling as skating for the Irish is, his greatest success this season has not come in South Bend. That’s come with Team USA, which won gold at this year’s World Junior Championship. The last Notre Dame player to medal in this event was Andrew Peeke, who helped the U.S. earn a bronze in 2018.

Slaggert, a South Bend native and recent Chicago Blackhawks draftee, did not score any points in seven games for the U.S., but he attained 12 penalty minutes. With the Irish, he has one goal and two assists through six games. That’s a far cry from the six goals apiece he scored in his last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Perhaps his most recent experience will allow him to finish his freshman season in a big way.

The Chicago Blackhawks reverse retro jersey roll out just shows team logo needs to change

Not great if the team is skittish about showing the front of the jersey

The NHL and adidas hockey dropped all 31 team Reverse Retro jerseys on Monday morning, showing off cool, refreshed new designs that call back the history of the league.

For the most part, the jerseys are either sufficiently fire or a design disaster, but that’s to be expected. Every NHL team proudly showed off their new reverse retro look, except for the Chicago Blackhawks, who seem to have taken great pains to avoid showing their Native American logo, which begs the question, if they’re so proud of it, why try to hide it?

The Blackhawks logo has a long, controversial history, with fans and Native Americans calling for the team to change it. In their reverse retro drop, either by accidental or deliberate obfuscation, the logo can hardly be seen. Neither the Blackhawks or adidas Hockey have responded to request for comment, so we can’t be certain if this was a team decision, NHL decision or if adidas decided they didn’t want the jersey roll out to be marred by controversy.

Well, that seems to have backfired, as the decision to try to hide the front of the jersey has turned into an obvious joke.

For the drop, the NHL started a Twitter thread with each team’s new jersey. 30 of the 31 photos are front facing shots that offer a clear view of the team logo.  For the Blackhawks, the NHL went with….a shot of the back of the jersey.

That could be glossed over as a marketing misstep, but the full release of NHL jersey images given to the media also doesn’t clearly show the Blackhawks logo either. The best image available is a partial side view.

NHL Blackhawks jersey
adidasHockey/Blackhawks

The team also released a video short showing off the jersey, which not only doesn’t feature a clear shot of the Blackhawks logo but looks like they’re actively trying to conceal it.

The only place the front of the jersey can be seen is via the Blackhawks team store social media account, which has a fraction of the followers of the team, adidas Hockey and the NHL.

Taking such great pains to hide the logo has only served to highlight how much the logo needs to change. If all parties involved are so proud of it, why take obvious measures to hide it? And, how feasible it is to keep the logo if a corporate partner wanted to skirt around it?  From the looks of it, the NHL, adidas and the team didn’t want to show the front, but have no problems making money off of it.

Update: A representative for the Blackhawks said, “The full jersey is featured in our Club’s launch video posted to team channels this morning, and you can also find a still on our merchandise-focused channel here.”

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Former Notre Dame Goaltender Cale Morris Signs With Rockford IceHogs

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products.

The Chicago Blackhawks really seem to like Notre Dame products. Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen them sign Cam Morrison and draft Landon Slaggert. Now, former Irish goaltender Cale Morris is joining the organization. More specifically, he has signed his first professional contract with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Morris was Notre Dame’s starting goaltender for three of his four seasons. He played 105 games and earned a 58-35-10 record with a 2.17 GAA, a .932 save percentage and 11 shutouts. He was between the pipes when the Irish made the national title game in 2018. Two years in a row, he was the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten tournament.

During the 2019-20 season, Morris earned his third consecutive Academic All-Big Ten selection. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a Senior Class Finalist and a unanimous selection to the First Team Preseason All-Big Ten. He was one of the conference Three Stars of the Week three times and an NCAA Star of the Week once.

Landon Slaggert, Ryder Rolston Taken on Second Day of NHL Draft

Without having played a single game for Notre Dame, Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston already are NHL products.

Without having played a single game for Notre Dame, Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston already are NHL products. The freshman forwards both were taken on the second day of the league’s draft Wednesday. Slaggert was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round as the 79th overall pick. Rolston went to the Colorado Avalanche as the 139th overall pick in the fifth round.

The Blackhawks wasted no time picking Slaggert’s brain:

Meanwhile, here’s how analysts viewed the Rolston pick on the NHL Network:

Slaggert has spent the past two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. In 49 games, he scored 24 points with an equal number of goals and assists. Here’s part of his scouting report from the EliteProspects Draft Guide:

Slaggert played like a bulldozer in this game, he threw heavy hits, outmuscled opponents along the boards and seemingly always wanted to play the body to win the puck. He could outwork opponents in the slot as well. Showed some good speed and decent acceleration. Strong physically, dominates in board battles and in corners.

After two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Rolston played the 2019-20 season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. He had 33 points, including 16 goals, in 42 games. EliteProspects has this to say about him:

Stretched the zone and uses speed to beat defenders wide. Plays first unit PP. Great lateral mobility. Works hard to give good pressure on the backcheck. Good hands that work to protect the puck. Quick release on his shot, used edgework combined with puck protection handles to evade pressure in the offensive zone, even employed a kind-of “stationary spin” at one point.

Chicago Blackhawks Anticipating Clutch Goals from Cam Morrison

It could be a while before we know if former Notre Dame forward Cam Morrison makes the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster for 2020-21.

It could be a while before we know if former Notre Dame forward Cam Morrison makes the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster for 2020-21. He’ll probably start the season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. What we do know is that he has a history of performing in the clutch. That’s what the Blackhawks are banking on according to a Chicago Sun-Times feature.

The story cites a few prominent moments in Morrison’s Notre Dame career. In 2017, he scored the tying goal (his second of the game) of the Irish’s overtime victory over UMass-Lowell that put them in the Frozen Four. The next year, he had the overtime goal in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State and later assisted on Jake Evans’ goal with six seconds left against Michigan that put the Irish in the national title game. The year after that, Morrison tormented Michigan again by scoring the game-winning goal in the Big Ten title game and also had an overtime tally against Clarkson in the NCAA tournament.

Irish coach Jeff Jackson agrees that Morrison has a knack to come up big when needed:

“Not every player has that ability to elevate in those key moments. Whatever characteristic that is, I’ve not had many players that have found a way to play their best hockey at the biggest moments. [But] he’s one of those guys that can do that.”

Jackson also assessed how Morrison needs to do to make the NHL and stay there:

“In order to become more than a role guy, he’s going to need to use that body and that reach more effectively on a consistent basis. He did that here at times, but the physical element to his game [needs] a little bit of a nasty streak at times to create more space for himself and be able to get into those dirty areas and compete for that ice.”

Best of luck to Morrison as he continues his hockey career. He’ll have the chance to prove himself. Whether he’s successful in doing that is up to him.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vegas Golden Knights, Game 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs Live Stream, Schedule, Start Time, TV Channel

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will start on Tuesday and the Blackhawks will meet the Golden Knights in the first round, watch the playoffs here.

The Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Vegas Golden Knights tonight in game one of their best-of-seven series. Both teams will take some time to feel each other out as they meet for the first time in a while.

Looking to support your favorite NHL team during the playoffs, check out the NHL Playoffs merchandise and support your team in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vegas Golden Knights

  • When: Tuesday, August 11
  • Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: NBCSN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

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NHL Playoff Schedule

No. 1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks

Tuesday, Aug. 11: Chicago at Vegas, 10:30 p.m. ET
Thursday, Aug. 13: Chicago at Vegas, 5:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Aug. 15: Vegas at Chicago, 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, Aug. 16: Vegas at Chicago, 6:30 p.m. ET
*Tuesday, Aug. 18: Chicago at Vegas – TBD
*Thursday, Aug. 20: Vegas at Chicago – TBD
*Saturday, Aug. 22: Chicago at Vegas – TBD

*if necessary

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Mitchell Trubisky, Allen Robinson participate in Sam Acho’s community event

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky and WR Allen Robinson were among those Chicago athletes that attended former Bear Sam Acho’s special event.

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and receiver Allen Robinson were among those Chicago athletes that attended former Bear Sam Acho’s special event Thursday at the By the Hand Club for Kids on Chicago’s West Side.

Among the other athletes in attendance were Cubs Jason Heyward and Jason Kipnis, Blackhawks Jonathan Toews and Malcolm Subban and Bulls Ryan Arcidiacono and Max Strus.

According to ChicagoBears.com, these athletes met with local youth and leaders from the By the Hand Club, BUILD and the Westside Health Authority, and with Chicago police officers, which included “healing circles.”

“We got together and we just listened,” Acho said, via ChicagoBears.com. “We listened to the people who are hurting. We sat and stood in circles with some kids from the West Side of Chicago, some police officers from the West Side of Chicago and pro athletes as well, and just allowed each other to have an open dialogue about what’s been going on, how do we feel about the situation and where can we go from here.”

Acho hosted this event as a way for those that were hurting to be heard and encouraged following the brutal and senseless murder of George Floyd.

“One thing that came from me was thinking about those kids in the city who are affected by this,” Acho said. “I was like, ‘What they need is just some encouragement. They need somebody to listen to them and love on them,’ so that’s what we did.

“I gathered a couple guys from each team. It was like Noah’s Ark, two-by-two. We listened to the kids and what they’re going through and listened to their heart, talked to some police officers as well and just listened and learned, and tried to find out what we could do to help change the city.”

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