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Blackhawks Loan Antti Saarela To Finnish League

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After a rough first year in North America last season, the Blackhawks are giving prospect forward Antti Saarela a fresh start.  Per an announcement from Luuko in Finland’s Liiga, Chicago has loaned Saarela to them for the upcoming season.

The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2019, going 123rd overall.  After a good showing with Lukko in 2022-23 that saw him record 18 points in 41 games, Chicago signed Saarela to a two-year, entry-level contract just a couple of months before they would have lost his NHL rights.

However, things didn’t go well for him in his first year with AHL Rockford.  Between injuries and some struggles, Saarela was limited to just 27 games where he picked up five goals and one assist.  He did not suit up for the IceHogs in the postseason.

Saarela is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent next summer with salary arbitration rights.  Considering how the first season went, it’s safe to say that Saarela is tracking toward non-tender status unless he has a very strong showing back home next season.

Rockford IceHogs Sign Austin Strand To AHL Contract

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The Chicago Blackhawks AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, will have another familiar face on the roster next season as the team announced they have signed defenseman Austin Strand to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 AHL season. Strand is projected to spend the entire season with the IceHogs after the team acquired him via trade from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season.

Strand turned professional in 2018 after signing his entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings after an impressive season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He spent his first full season with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 43 games. Strand spent the next three years with the Kings organization and collected three assists in 21 games at the NHL level with 12 goals and 27 points in 92 AHL contests.

Moving further south in California, Strand signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks heading into the 2022-23 season. He participated in five games with the Ducks that season collecting two goals and eight points in 46 games for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Anaheim traded Strand to the Buffalo Sabres organization in exchange for Chase Priskie at that year’s deadline, suiting up in nine games for the Rochester Americans down the stretch.

Outside of his offensive production — Strand carries plenty of value to the IceHogs as a veteran presence and stabilizing defenseman. The team’s president of hockey operations, Mark Bernard, said as much, “He brings experience and energy to the rink each day and is someone that can help carry the coaching staff’s message into the locker room. He will be a great asset this year as we will have a lot of young prospects that he can be a mentor to“.

Blackhawks Open To Signing Taige Harding

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Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released the summer edition of his Top 100 drafted NHL prospects rankings. Not surprisingly, Macklin Celebrini tops the list and is one of 22 players from the 2024 NHL entry draft. Philadelphia Flyers 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov is the second-ranked prospect just ahead of Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov who rounded out the top 3.

Celebrini’s soon-to-be teammate Will Smith ranked eighth on the list and was the second of six San Jose Sharks prospects to make Wheeler’s top 100. The six prospects for San Jose was the most among any team alongside the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens who also had six ranked prospects. The Sharks, Blue Jackets, and Canadiens are all in the midst of a rebuild and isn’t surprising to see them have the most players on the list.

In other league notes:

  • Scott Powers of The Athletic is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks could still sign 2021 third-round pick (91st overall) Taige Harding. The unsigned defenseman has had a steady but unspectacular NCAA career at Providence College and is going into his senior year with the Friars. Powers believes that the Blackhawks would be willing to give Harding an entry-level deal and a role in the AHL if Harding is interested. The 21-year-old won’t provide much offence, but at 6’7” tall and 235 pounds he will be a presence in the Blackhawks’ defensive zone when he makes the jump to professional hockey.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that their new ECHL affiliate will be the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The multi-year affiliation agreement will start this season and will see the Knight Monsters play in Stateline, Nevada out of the Tahoe Blue Event Center. The ECHL approved the expansion franchise a year ago and the team already had six players signed for next season before the affiliation. The Knight Monsters will begin their inaugural season on October 24th against the Jacksonville Icemen.

Luke Richardson Could Enter Hot Seat This Season

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The Chicago Blackhawks made several additions to the lineup this offseason while operating near the league’s basement for the past two years. The organization hopes to be much more competitive this season which may indirectly impact the future of the head coach, Luke Richardson. Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription article) wonders if Richardson may be on the hot seat this season if the Blackhawks are not more competitive.

There should be a grain of salt taken with any ideas of competition coming out of Chicago as the organization still does not project to be close to a Stanley Cup contender. However, with phenom Connor Bedard entering his sophomore season and the team adding $25.05MM to their salary cap structure for the 2024-25 NHL season, the Blackhawks could compete for a .500 record. After collecting a record of 49-102-13 over the last two years — is Richardson the coach to oversee this next step for Chicago?

The Blackhawks organization would have been hard-pressed to find a coach who would have earned a better record than Richardson over the past two years, and his calm demeanor appears to have helped many of the younger players transition to professional hockey. Richardson was an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens when they made their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 but has little to no experience beyond coaching a competitive team. Chicago will have a longer leash than most on his performance this year but it’s clear the front office is looking to take a step forward in the rebuild.

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Rockford IceHogs Re-Sign Jackson Cates To One-Year Deal

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The AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Rockford IceHogs, will have a familiar face on the roster next season. The team announced they have agreed to terms with forward Jackson Cates to a one-year AHL contract for the 2024-25 AHL season.

Cates was by no means a standout player in Rockford but did finish 10th on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 25 points in 50 games. He also spent a brief period with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last year where he tallied one goal in 12 contests. As the Blackhawks continue to graduate prospects through the farm system this season, Cates will be a good bit of continuity for the younger players to get accustomed to professional life.

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Blackhawks Sign Artyom Levshunov To Entry-Level Contract

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The last of the top-three selections of the 2024 NHL Draft has signed his entry-level contract as the Chicago Blackhawks announced they have signed the second overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov foregoes his sophomore season at Michigan State University to compete for a spot on the Blackhawks’ opening night roster out of training camp.

Immediately becoming the best defensive prospect in the organization under contract with this move, the Blackhawks will take care of Levshunov’s development for the rest of the way. Chicago’s general manager, Kyle Davidson, praised Levshunov after the signing, “Signing Artyom gives us the opportunity to continue his development in house and take the next step into professional hockey. He’s a strong two-way defenseman that has all the tools to be a high-end player in the NHL and we’re excited to continue his growth at the pro level“.

Levshunov joined the Spartans after spending one season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL where he recorded 13 goals and 42 points in 62 games. The young Belarusian defenseman grew his game extensively upon reaching the NCAA ranks by scoring nine goals and 35 points in 38 games while earning a +27 rating. At the end of the 2023-24 NCAA season, Levshunov made the All-Big Ten First Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team in addition to being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

The Spartans also recorded one of their best seasons in recent history on the backs of Levshunov. Michigan State finished first in the Conference for the first time since the 2000-01 season and beat their rival University of Michigan in the Conference Championship. Unfortunately for Levshunov and the Spartans, the team would have their season ended in the Regional Final of the 2024 Frozen Four in an act of retribution from the Wolverines.

The Blackhawks organization may do well to start Levshunov in the American Hockey League with their affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Levshunov should get plenty of ice time down in the AHL and can build up confidence in his game at the professional level before joining the team in Chicago when they are ready to take the next step in their rebuild.

Blackhawks Have Not Decided On Levshunov's Future

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  • Although Tyler Bertuzzi would ultimately sign a four-year, $22MM contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, he did not enter the summer believing they were interested. His first contact from the organization came from veteran Nick Foligno, who alerted Bertuzzi to Chicago’s interest, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Foligno and Bertuzzi have briefly played with each other during the 2022-23 season as both were rostered on the regular season champion Boston Bruins.
  • Staying in Chicago, the team has yet to decide on the future of recent second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports the general manager of the Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, says he believes there are benefits to Levshunov signing with the organization and continuing his development in Rockford, or staying another year at Michigan State University. There are arguments on both sides of the debate but Levshunov has little else to prove at the NCAA level as he became one of the most dominant defensemen in the country as a freshman.

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Nikita Zaitsev Signs With KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg

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July 4: Khayrullin’s report has come to fruition. It’s a four-year deal for Zaitsev with SKA, TSN’s Chris Johnston reports.

May 20: It has been a fairly steep fall from grace for defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.  A few years ago, he was logging over 20 minutes a night but he has since been included as salary cap ballast in a trade twice and had a very limited role this season with the Blackhawks.  Instead of seeing what might await him in free agency, it appears he has decided to head home as Sport-Express’ Arthur Khayrullin reports that Zaitsev is expected to sign a multi-year deal (a minimum of three years) with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

The 32-year-old came to North America back in 2016 and made an immediate impact with Toronto, recording 36 points, 136 blocks, and 176 hits in 72 games while averaging more than 22 minutes per game, an impressive first year.  That earned him a seven-year, $31.5MM extension one year later and the Maple Leafs thought they had a core piece locked up for the long haul.

Unfortunately for them, it didn’t work out that way.  Zaitsev didn’t reach the 20-point mark let alone getting back to 36 over those seven seasons.  While he still logged some big minutes after being traded to Ottawa, his role eventually dwindled and eventually, the team parted with a pair of draft picks (a 2023 second-rounder and a 2026 fourth-rounder) to get Chicago to take the remaining year and a bit off their hands.

This season, Zaitsev found himself a healthy scratch on quite a few occasions while also missing time due to illness, an upper-body injury, and a knee issue that kept him out for 19 games.  As a result, he made a career-low 38 appearances, notching just seven points, 70 hits, and 69 blocks in a little under 16 minutes per contest, all career-lows as well.

With Chicago having several young defensemen on the cusp of pushing for full-time NHL duty, they weren’t going to bring Zaitsev back.  While it’s possible he could have had some interest in a depth role on an NHL roster, it looks like he’ll opt for the security of a multi-year agreement back home.  Assuming a contract gets finalized, Zaitsev will depart the NHL with 118 points in 482 career appearances, a pretty good career overall for an undrafted player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blackhawks Would Start Levshunov In AHL If He Turns Pro

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  • There has been some speculation about the future of the Chicago Blackhawks’ first-round pick, Artyom Levshunov, on whether he will stay another year at Michigan State University or start the year in Chicago. If Levshunov decides to turn pro, the Blackhawks are leaning towards having Levshunov start with their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago will certainly not want to rush Levshunov’s development as he is coming off a 35-point season in 38 games for the Spartans and the Blackhawks do not appear ready to contend for the playoffs quite yet.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Blackhawks Sign T.J. Brodie To Two-Year Contract

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The Blackhawks have signed veteran defenseman T.J. Brodie to a two-year, $7.5MM contract, per a team announcement. It carries a $3.75MM cap hit in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Brodie, 34, is coming off a four-year deal with the Maple Leafs that largely saw him serve as one of the better defensive d-men in the league – until he wasn’t. After three years of bonafide top-pairing play, Brodie trailed off in 2023-24, seeing his possession metrics dip and his speed decrease to the point where he was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, falling behind multiple trade deadline pickups on the Toronto depth chart.

Numbers still show he’s an effective NHL defender, though, one that should benefit a Chicago defense that didn’t play much defense last year (outside of rookie standout Alex Vlasic). He’s consistently controlled the majority of cumulative quality chances at even strength dating back to his Calgary days in the 2010s, and he averaged at least 21 minutes per game during his four years in Toronto. He should do the same in Chicago, teaming up with Vlasic, Seth Jones, Alec Martinez, and Kevin Korchinski to form a half-decent top-five group on the back end.

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