To add a little excitement for the evening, the Blackhawks had a ceremonial one-day contract signing so that Marian Hossa could “officially” retire as a member of the Blackhawks. From the Blackhawks’ perspective, it was nice to see that familiar face once again. Following the pre-game ceremony, the Blackhawks also announced that Hossa’s number will be retired next season.

Marian Hossa’s first ballot Hall of Fame legacy is worth more than one night of recognition. It’s a legacy worthy of eternity. pic.twitter.com/JCnQh5SRxW

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 8, 2022

There was a game to be played, though (allegedly).

The Blackhawks had some jump in their step following the opening face-off, but that soon ended. After going up early in shots 2–0, the home team ended up surrendering 16 straight to the Kraken. Heading into the first intermission, the score remained 0–0 thanks to some heroics by Chicago goaltender Kevin Lankinen. The final first period tally was 17–3.

Before most of the fans were able to make it back into their seats, Kraken center Alexander Wennberg faked Jake McCabe out of his skates then went around Lankinen to give the Kraken the only goal they would end up needing for a 1–0 lead. This was Wennberg’s 10th goal of the season.

The rest of the second period (and essentially the game) was the Philipp Grubauer show. Chicago came out and peppered the Seattle netminder with 15 shots, but none reached the back of the net. When the second period horn went off, the Blackhawks had almost erased the 14-shot deficit from the first period, but the Kraken still led by a much slimmer margin, 21–18.

The third period was a much more even one. The Blackhawks sent 11 more shots Grubauer’s way, but never got that elusive first goal, while the Kraken got a late goal from Jordan Eberle, who sent a wrist shot through three Blackhawks defenders and past Lankinen to double the gap to 2–0. The goal came with only 1:39 left in regulation, and immediately send the Chicago crowd heading for the exits.

Anchor points

It cannot be overstated that the Blackhawks were not only booed following a very bad 5-on-3 power play, but were booed as they left the ice. They are a bad team, but they have enough talent to not be whitewashed at home against an equally bad team. They were 0–4 on the power play against a team that has the 27th-ranked penalty kill. The Blackhawks should have feasted on that.

Blackhawks rookie Alex Vlasic suited up and played (allegedly), but I cannot recall one play he made on the ice. Highly touted rookie Lukas Reichel was slightly more noticeable for Chicago, but barely.

  On the other hand, Grubauer needed a big game and the team needed one to rally around their big-salary starter. Lately, Chris Driedger has been outplaying Grubauer by a significant amount. As much as I like Driedger, they cannot go into the offseason with a goalie controversy in which one of the players has played himself off the market.

Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn went down and into the end boards awkwardly in the second period. It originally looked like he would be out long term, but luckily, he returned to play in the third period.

The way the Kraken started the game, it should be no surprise that they led in most advanced possession stats.

5-on-5 Corsi (total shot attempts) 54%–46%
5-on-5 Fenwick (Unblocked shot attempts) 53%–47%
5-on-5 High-danger chances for 62%–38%
5-on-5 Expected goals for 60%–40%
Face-off percentage 56%–44%

The Kraken are off today and return to home ice to face the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. PDT.

The Blackhawks host the Dallas Stars on Sunday evening. The puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT.

The post RECAP: Kraken sink Blackhawks after Hossa retirement celebration appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by Rink staffer Sean Fitzgerald to talk about Jonathan Toews’ future after 1000 games, Marian Hossa’s big night, and what lies ahead for Patrick Kane and the “core.”

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Watch the entire replay of the Twitter right here:

Blackhawks/Rinkcast – S5Ep 19 – Toews 1000, Hossa’s big night, core questions ahead. https://t.co/UP6tW42zWk

— Chicago Blackhawks Rinkcast (@TheRinkcast) April 6, 2022

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 19 – Toews 1000, Hossa’s big night, core questions ahead appeared first on The Rink.

OFFICIAL: Hossa will sign a one-day contract and officially retire as a Blackhawk this Thursday! pic.twitter.com/SDLB6wQr8m

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 5, 2022

Blackhawks fans will have the opportunity to see Hossa sign his ceremonial contract at 6:15 p.m. CDT inside the United Center’s atrium prior to the team’s 7:30 p.m. CDT puck drop against the Seattle Kraken.

“The Blackhawks and city of Chicago hold a special place in my heart,” Hossa said in a press release. “Making the commitment to this organization in 2009 was the best decision I ever made. For all the memories my teammates and I made together, including three Stanley Cup wins, my family created just as many off the ice. The fans embraced us as one of their own, treating us so kindly wherever we went. Retiring as a Blackhawk is a dream come true and I couldn’t imagine officially ending my career in any other way. I would like to thank the Wirtz family for making this a reality and for all they have done for me since I signed with the team.”

Hossa’s esteemed career was highlighted by his time in Chicago, helping the Blackhawks to Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The Slovakian played 534 regular season games with the Hawks from 2009 to 2017, posting 186 goals and 229 assists for 415 points in those contests. Hossa also racked up 107 postseason games with Chicago, tallying 21 goals and 52 assists when it mattered most.

Among Hossa’s many individual accomplishments with the Blackhawks included his 1,000th game on March 12, 2013, his 1,000th point on Oct. 30, 2014 and his 500th goal on Oct. 18, 2016. Perhaps Hossa’s most iconic Blackhawks moment was his overtime game-winning goal against the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, which helped fuel the Hawks to a six-game series win en route to winning the organization’s first championship in 49 years.

“To me, the greatest free agent signing in Chicago sports history, Marian was the franchise’s missing piece,” said Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz in the press release. “Both on, and off the ice, he made an indelible mark on his teammates and our organization. My family is forever grateful for the contributions Marian made to the Blackhawks. His humble demeanor and vaunted work ethic was everything we could have asked for and more in a superstar when we signed him in 2009. We feel that it’s only fitting that Marian retire as a Blackhawk as he starts a new chapter in his life.”

Tickets for Thursday’s game against the Kraken, which will allow fans the opportunity to see Hossa’s signing ceremony, are still available through the Blackhawks’ website.

The post BREAKING: Hossa to sign one-day contract, retire with Blackhawks Thursday appeared first on The Rink.

Hossa joined the Blackhawks in the summer of 2009 by signing a 12-year contract worth $62.8 million and won his first Stanley Cup championship with the organization just 11 months later. He was in the middle of a bidding war during the summer of 2009 because he was widely considered the best free agent available at the time. During the two previous seasons, he made it to the Stanley Cup Final with both Pittsburgh and Detroit, but lost both series.

It’s official!

Three-time #Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champion Marian Hossa has been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame! #HossaHOF pic.twitter.com/Pl02en6NOw

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 24, 2020

In the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Hossa was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, 12th overall. After spending his first seven NHL seasons with the Senators, he then played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings before joining Chicago.

After winning championships with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015, the Blackhawks announced that Hossa was suffering from a progressive skin disorder and would miss the entire 2017–18 season. In May 2018, he announced he would no longer play hockey and intended to retire after his contract expires in 2021. Hossa’s contract was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in July 2018 as a way to give the Blackhawks some much-needed salary cap relief.

The big, quiet wing finished his career with 525 goals and 609 assists for 1,134 points in 1,309 regular season games over his 19-year NHL career. He was the 44th player in NHL history to score 500 goals and the 80th player to amass 1,000 points.

The Rink would like to pass on a hearty thank you and congratulations to Marian Hossa for his service to the Chicago Blackhawks and many years of unbelievable professionalism with the organization.

The post Marian Hossa named to Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020 appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com co-hosts Jeff “Gatekeeper” Osborn and John Jaeckel are joined by Rink prospect expert Eric Andrews to wrap up Blackhawks Prospect and Development Camp.

• The Blackhawks trade Marian Hossa’s contract, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle for some prospects and the corpse of Marcus Kruger.
• What about Tobias Enström?
• Stan Bowman has another virtually useless press conference regarding trades and Corey Crawford full of more fluff, empty words and lisp service
• Lots of prospect talk but did any really stand out?
• RIP, Ray Emery
• We wrap up the episode with some great listener/reader questions.

thanks to @Wm_J_Lepetomane on Twitter for this fine creation

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The post The Blackhawks Rinkcast – Episode 27 (Prospect Camp) appeared first on The Rink.

But, on the other hand, there could end up being more to this deal for either or both teams.

Jordan Oesterle goes to Arizona, and the Hawks pick up three guys who are either prospects (Mackenzie Entwistle), or AHLers/fringe NHLers (Andrew Campbell and Jordan Maletta). Meh.

To my eye, the “x factors” in this deal are center Marcus Kruger and RW Vince Hinostroza.

If Kruger can regain some or (who knows?) all of the form he had in 2015, then this could go down as a pretty shrewd deal for Hawk GM Stan Bowman. Conversely, Hinostroza may get the opportunity to be a regular top 6 forward in Arizona that he probably wasn’t going to get in Chicago. Will he produce—and more importantly—will he help elevate the rebuilding Coyotes in that role? Or will the Coyotes slot Hinostroza—and develop him—as I and others always felt the Hawks should have, as Kris Draper/Darren Helm 2.0: a fast, energetic, tough as nails guy to play against, with some occasional offense, who can be an absolute gem in a lower line role?

Kruger has battled injury for much of the last three years—a couple of wrist injuries and a sports hernia last year. Still, in 48 games with the Hurricanes last year, he was 55% in the faceoff dot.

Kruger never lit up the scoresheet in Chicago, and he became a whipping boy for Hawks’ fans when he signed a 3 year, $10 million deal after the last Cup. But the reality is, a healthy Marcus Kruger was the kind of guy who helps NHL teams win games, and series and Cups (not unlike the aforementioned Draper and Helm). Because he filled some important lower line/utility roles that not any bum can fill. Killing penalties, shadowing opponents’ top centers, driving a really effective shutdown/energy line.

The question is, is he still that kind of player. As of this writing, I don’t know what the Hawks’ scouting is on his health, and in truth, they may not even have any assurances. In that regard, Kruger could be nothing more than salary and a contract slot coming the other way to soften the cap hit for Arizona, at the same time a lottery ticket for Bowman.

Because if Kruger is relatively healthy this year, can still wein faceoffs and play his style of game, which is a lot bigger than his 6’1”, 190 pounds, then Stan Bowman very adroitly filled an underappreciated need on his team going into next season.

Which leads this narrative to another “overpaid” whipping boy: Jonathan Toews.

As far as Toews’ dropoff since 2015, there have been numerous theories. “Doesn’t care.” “Vegan.” “Takes too many supplements.” “Back injury” (which at least was legitimate season before last).

But one theory that I’ve heard from a team source, and has been echoed by Eddie Olczyk and others, is that when Toews is forced to do too much work, specifically taking faceoffs in too many situations, it detracts from his overall game, especially his offense.

Here’s the thing—winning faceoffs in the NHL is hard, physical work. And the two “centers” who follow Toews on the depth chart (Nick Schmaltz and Artem Anisimov) aren’t very good at it. So is killing penalties.

These were two things Kruger did a lot of from 2013-2015, so Toews didn’t have to—or not as much.

So if (and again, at this point, it’s a big “if”), Kruger is physically good enough this year to resume that role, in some form, there could be a subtle, yet important ripple effect for the entire Hawk team.

Or just some cap hit to absorb as a part of the cost of losing Marian Hossa’s cap hit. There was some speculation yesterday that the move was a cap clearing precursor to another deal—which I heard later in the afternoon had added urgency to some discussions I first reported a couple of weeks ago between the Hawks and Canadiens around Max Pacioretty.

Having reported on rumors for 9 years now, I can tell you that many, many more conversations happen than actual deals—and those big, seismic moves are exceedingly rare. So yesterday’s deal may end up being what it is. For better, worse or just moving some money around.

All I have for now. Follow @jaeckel and comment below.

The post What the Hossa trade really means appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago sent the remaining three years of Marian Hossa‘s contract, forward Vinnie Hinostroza, and defenseman Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 3rd round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Marcus Kruger, MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta, defenseman Andrew Campbell and a fifth-round pick in 2019.

Hossa has been all but retired since it was announced that he was suffering for years from a painful skin condition.  The Blackhawks were able to use his $5.25 million cap hit against long term injured reserved last season.  The team only paid Hossa $1 million in actual dollars.

Vinnie Hinostroza was drafted the Blackhawks in the 6th round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and signed with the team after finishing his 2014-15 season for Notre Dame.  He finally came into his own last season amassing 25 points (7G, 18A) with the Blackhawks, after leading the Rockford Icehogs in scoring early on.

Jordan Oesterle was signed as a free agent last summer after playing in the Edmonton system.  In a bit of a breakout year, Oesterle put up 15 points (5G, 10A) in 55 games for the Blackhawks.  He became expendable with the flurry of young defensemen in the system signed to entry level deals this spring.

Coming back to the Blackhawks is a familiar face, in Marcus Kruger.  Kruger was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights last summer for future considerations and then flipped to the Carolina Hurricanes shortly after.  The Hurricanes traded Kruger to the Coyotes in may after a very disappointing season that led Kruger to play in the AHL towards the end of the season.

Also, coming to the Blackhawks are prospects MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta, and Andrew Campbell.

Entwistle is an 18 year-old 6’3″ 175 lbs right wing drafted in 2017 by Arizona in the 3rd round of the NHL Entry Draft. This last season he put up 38 points in 49 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL.

Jordan Meletta is a 23 year-old 6’3″ 216 lbs center that played all of his pro career with the Cleveland Monsters and Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. He will probaby be assigned to the Rockford Icehogs.

Andrew Campbell is a 30 year-old 6’4” 205 lbs AHL veteran defenseman that will likely take the spot of the departed Cody Franson, Adam Clendening and Viktor Svedberg.

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks Trade Hossa/Hinostroza/Oesterle to Arizona appeared first on The Rink.

IceHogs Need Statement Win

On Tuesday night, the IceHogs hosted the red-hot Manitoba Moose and to sum up the game in a few words: it happened. The Moose came into the game winners of their last six in a row and nine of their last ten and it showed. Manitoba jumped all over the IceHogs early and often, getting an 8-1 win with Rockford’s lone goal coming from Anthony Louis.

Well wishes go out to Jeff Glass, who was in net for all eight Manitoba goals, though the blame for a number of them was not squarely on him. The IceHogs continuously had chances to match the Moose, but didn’t have the finishing ability on the night. Wipe the hands clean and move on.

Friday night sees the Illinois Lottery Cup rivalry write a new chapter as the Wolves come into Rockford for the third matchup between the teams this season. The season-series is split 1-1 after the IceHogs and Wolves traded 4-3 victories in games one and two.

Chicago sits at the bottom of the AHL Central Division with 14 points in the standings and just one win, against Rockford, in their last ten games (1-6-3). Chicago’s special teams don’t tell the story of a team struggling as their power-play ranks 21st in the AHL (15.4%) and their penalty-kill ranks 11th (84.3%). Both ranking higher than the IceHogs, 28th on the powerplay (13.1%) and 26th on the penalty-kill (78.9%). If the IceHogs can get over their slump, the Wolves are the team to do it against, especially at home where the IceHogs are 7-5-1 this season, 3-1-1 in their last five games.

Rockford will have a quick turnaround after Friday night as they welcome the Texas Stars for a Saturday night matchup. The Stars are currently second in the AHL Pacific Division, and will becoming off of their own Friday night game, a road contest against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Saturday’s game will be the first of four games against the Stars, who the IceHogs won’t see again until Feb. 28, 2018. The Stars come into the game on Saturday with the AHL’s 24th ranked powerplay at 14.6% and a penalty-kill rate of 79.2%, also ranking 24th in the league.

Texas has been on a hot streak as of late, winning seven of their last ten games and four in-a-row heading into the Friday night matchup against the Griffins. The IceHogs will need to be mindful of the Travis Morin–Curtis McKenzie connection that the Stars ice, with Morin leading Texas in points with 22 (4G, 18A) and McKenzie leading in goals with 11 on the season.

Jordin Tootoo Assigned To IceHogs

On Thursday, the Chicago Blackhawks assigned Jordin Tootoo to the Rockford IceHogs after Tootoo cleared NHL waivers. Tootoo has yet to see the ice this season, spending time on Long-Term Injured Reserve since Oct. 4 with an upper-body injury. Tootoo is expected to be in the lineup for the IceHogs immediately after playing 50 games for the Blackhawks last season.

In his career, Tootoo has played in 723 NHL games with 161 points and 151 AHL games with 67 points. His last AHL stint was during the 2013-14 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Off The Ice

Aside from the action on the ice this weekend, the IceHogs have an eventful off the ice schedule planned for Friday and Saturday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. On Friday night, three-time Stanley Cup Champion Marian Hossa will be in the house for a meet and greet with fans. The first 2,500 fans in attendance on Friday will receive a free Hossa poster. A number of fans will also randomly receive a certificate with their poster, which will grant them an opportunity to meet Hossa and receive an autograph. Hossa tribute videos and a ceremonial puck drop are also in the works for Friday’s game.

Following up on Saturday, the IceHogs have their annual Teddy Toss benefiting Rockford-area hospitals and children’s charities. Fans are invited to bring new or gently-used teddy bears or stuffed animals to the game to toss on the ice after the IceHogs score their first goal of the game. Last season, the IceHogs collected and donated a total of 3,491 teddy bears last season.

Friday’s game is slated for a 7pm CT puck drop and Saturday’s game has a 6pm CT puck drop.

The post Preview: Rockford IceHogs Look For Bounce Back Weekend appeared first on The Rink.