en-us SportSpyder - The Latest Chicago Blackhawks News https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/news Even with the return of franchise icon Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard is still best served to lead the Blackhawks long term. Sun, 02 Aug 2026 01:21:27 GMT Nick Neumayer https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57435517 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57435517 false false A closer look at the salary cap situation for the Chicago Blackhawks heading into the upcoming season. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 18:06:52 GMT Brian La Rose https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57432188 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57432188 false false Matthew and Brady Tkachuk shared their excitement about Patrick Kane’s return to the Blackhawks, with Matthew comparing a potential Kane-Bedard pairing to Kane and Artemi Panarin. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 17:57:34 GMT Tony Marchese https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57432120 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57432120 false false Connor Bedard has grown to become one of the Chicago Blackhawks' most important players. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 16:11:03 GMT Varun Anand Bhat https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57431215 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57431215 false false The game of hockey, like all sports, is filled with heroes. Most of the time, it is the superstars who have a reputation for coming up clutch. However, we are here to talk about the heroic performances that seem to come from nowhere. An unlikely hero can step up and chip in with a massive … Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:01:45 GMT Dan Mount, Editor https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57430667 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57430667 false false Earlier this week, sat down with all of the players at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Chicago. She shared some of the fun things the players shared with her during those interviews. There are a couple comments from Blackhawks prospects Roman Kantserov and Sacha Boisvert that stood out. First, Kantserov said he likes “English” rock music and specifically mentioned Linkin Park. Boisvert said he bought himself a nice watch with his first NHL paycheck, but called it an “entry-level watch” and he’d like to get some more. Here’s how he broke down his first fight in the NHL (against Will Borgen): I knew it was going to happen at some point. And then when I got the opportunity, obviously I took it. It was the second period. I got stuck behind the net. And then, he gave me a couple cross-checks and then had a little chitchat and he was like, “Be my guest.” And I was like, “OK.” Went into the locker room and thought about it a little bit. I was like, “What if I fought? Game could change momentum, could be a good first scrap.” Third period, there’s a little scrum in the corner. I grabbed him and we just ended up fighting. I think I did pretty good. Matt Larkin and Uffe Bodin at Daily Faceoff projected . Larkin has Blackhawks forward Anton Frondell in the lineup (at the 3C). Bodin, on the other hand, wrote ” It feels like it might be too soon for players like Anton Frondell and Viggo Björck to make that jump.” We’ll see what direction they go next year. The USA will wrap up its World Junior Summer Showcase against Canada later today. It seems like Blackhawks prospect Mason West has looked pretty good at the camp. He’ll have more time to impress the coaches this fall; Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale is running this roster for USA Hockey as well. Some of the players from the NHLPA Rookie Showcase made an appearance at The National in Rosemont and opened some packs with Upper Deck. It looks like the big winner was Gavin McKenna, who pulled a Connor Bedard auto. Must be nice! The Sharks forward Collin Graf to a three-year contract worth $4.25M AAV. The Penguins forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension that has a $4.65M cap hit. The Columbus Blue Jackets Don Granato has joined Rick Bowness’ staff as an assistant coach. Hockey Canada named its . Projected 2027 No. 1 pick will be there. Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff wrote about some players to write down before checking in on that dance. With the coming up next week, I took a look at 15 prospects for the 2027 worth keeping an eye on:— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) Finally, there will be no Russia or Belarus at international events for the coming season. IIHF re-affirms ban for Russia, Belarus in major international events in 2026-27 — Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) BLEACHER NATION: | Subscribe to the Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:05:38 GMT Tab Bamford https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57430202 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57430202 false false Welcome to August! The last month of the year with no NHL hockey games! Start the month and your weekend off with the latest news in today’s Morning Chirps. Bl Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:24:06 GMT Greg Boysen https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57429519 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57429519 false false The Chicago Blackhawks have many forwards who are capable of playing in the NHL. Some of them will be out on Opening Night because of the limited space. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:49:33 GMT Vinnie Parise https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57424325 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57424325 false false We’ll start our Friday with a really good read from Scott Powers at on Artyom Levshunov. There’s no question the Blackhawks need Levshunov to take a big step forward this coming season; his development is arguably the most important in the organization right now after Chicago selected him second overall. And yes, I will continue to remind folks that defensemen take time. Which is why I’m as much of a fan of the addition of Bowen Byram. He takes pressure off both Levshunov and Sam Rinzel to do more than they’re ready to do. Now, the Blackhawks coaches can use both of their young right-handed defensemen in more appropriate, advantageous situations while Byram gets top billing. The biggest thing I appreciate about this piece from Powers is the perspective he puts on the player’s path to the pros. It’s easy to forget the route Levshunov has taken to where he is today. The moving pieces and the fact that he hasn’t been home to Belarus in four years. The Blackhawks are the first team he’ll be on for more than one season in those four years, and he’s starting to make Chicago truly his home. This quote from Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill sums it up nicely: “In the last number of years, he had gone from Green Bay to Michigan State to Chicago/Rockford,” Blashill said. “Last year was the first year in a number of years that he spent on the same team, from the second half of last year to this year. And so I think the more he’s around here, the more he is going to get comfortable, the more he gets comfortable, the more confidence in success that he’ll have.” Artyom Levshunov decided it was best for his development with the Blackhawks to stay in Chicago most of this summer. I recently sat down with him to discuss that decision, what he’s been working on, how he’s adjusted to life away from Belarus & more ⤵️— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) One other exceptional read I recommend from comes from James Mirtle in the wake of on Wednesday. He writes about how the financial landscape in the NHL is changing — evolving — so quickly with the salary cap finally climbing at an unprecedented pace that the percentage of the ceiling is where “value” will continue to be determined. And, in the case of Celebrini, the initial hit being over 16 percent of the ceiling will look much, much better when that settles to potentially around 12 percent by the end of the deal. Some of these trends have been a long time coming. As far back as two decades ago, for example, hockey’s analytics community was arguing that a star player’s peak performance , which directly clashed with so many teams squeezing their young players and spending big on over-the-hill veterans in their UFA years. It used to be that NHL GMs could expect to save a great deal on restricted free agents, using their leverage as the teams that drafted them to grind salaries far lower than for veterans set to hit the open market. But with offer sheets now a very real threat, young players are beginning to get paid closer to their true market value, much to the chagrin of some old-school executives around the league. Suddenly, RFA years aren’t necessarily always worth less than UFA years, especially when teams know some RFA players objectively possess more on-ice value. It’s a huge shift from when top young talents like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were making just $6.3 million a season — a little more than 10 percent of the cap — while leading the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup wins between 2009-10 and 2014-15. Though Mirtle doesn’t mention Connor Bedard‘s contract with the focus being on the macro impact of the deals to Celebrini and Leo Carlsson this summer, the narrative still holds that a five-year deal with a cap hit that’s immediately shocking will age incredibly well in the current climate of spending big on young players. And, as many have pointed out in the comments here, it should make Blackhawks fans feel good about the number Bedard ultimately took because, if Celebrini’s is going to age well, Bedard’s will, too. The Tkachuk boys talked about Patrick Kane coming back to the Blackhawks on their Wingmen podcast this week. Here’s a clip. The Kane-Bedard connection is gonna be a fun one to watch in Chicago this season 👀🧬 — Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk (@Wingmenpod) Steven Ellis at wrote about the players who stood out on Day Three of the World Junior Summer Showcase (Wednesday’s games) and put a spotlight on Blackhawks prospect Mason West. This was West’s best game. He played with a ton of power and speed, while showing a willingness to hit anyone who got near him. West can be a bit of a passenger at times, but it felt like he was the one trying to make things happen the most on USA’s second line. West is still a work in progress, but his mixture of size, mobility and raw skill makes him fascinating. He’s not a lock to make USA’s roster, but I think he’ll force his way onto it. For reference, his first game last season came just days before USA kick... Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:11:50 GMT Tab Bamford https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57423229 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57423229 false false Even after the Blackhawks signed Patrick Kane to a two-year contract, the macro talk about the Blackhawks from league-wide writers remains focused on questions about where the offense is going to come from while Connor Bedard is out of the lineup. There are still people out there who think the Blackhawks haven’t done enough to improve the team’s scoring. Which is why we need to have another conversation about incoming rookie Roman Kantserov. Kantserov was a (No. 44 overall) by the Blackhawks in 2023. He kinda disappeared from a lot of the talk about the Blackhawks’ pipeline because he was playing in the KHL and Russia has been banned from international events. We didn’t get to see him play in a World Junior Championship or other showcases because of that, and we were limited to clips on social media of his games in Russia. Our Top 30 NHL Affiliate Prospects 19 – Roman Kantserov Kantserov is a relentless, highly energetic player, he plays at an extremely fast pace and maintains it. He is a fast, smart and very creative player that create offence from any situation. He has a quick, snappy shot, he… — IceMetrix (@IceMetrix) This past season, Kantserov emerged as the at just 21. He scored 36 goals in 63 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, for whom he wore an A and played center. The numbers he put up drew comparisons to Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and former Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin. Which should get us excited about his arrival in the NHL. I’ve shared this more than once, but here’s David St-Louis’ excellent breakdown of Kantserov’s game and how he could emerge as a bona fide impact forward in the Blackhawks’ top six this coming season. There’s a ton to like about how Kantserov plays the game. The fact that he was successful as a center against older, more mature competition in the KHL gives the Blackhawks coaching staff another versatile option in a lineup with the likes of Bedard, Anton Frondell, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene and others who can play down the middle or on the wing. When he spoke with the media following the 2026 NHL Draft and the start of free agency at the beginning of July, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson Kantserov could be an impact winger on a line with Bedard this season. Davidson went on to joke that if he had traded for Kantserov there might be more excitement about his arrival in the NHL that just signing a player he drafted three years earlier. Kantserov Gets the Blackhawks, Chicago When Kantserov in Chicago earlier this week, he showed some understanding of the Blackhawks history. In an interview with at the NHLPA’s Rookie Showcase, he said this about the addition of Kane to the lineup: “When I was kid, I liked watching him and Artemi Panarin play here. It was the best duo. Some say Kane and [Jonathan] Toews were the best duo, but I think in 2015, Panarin and Kane was the best duo. I like to play EA NHL on my PlayStation, and every time I choose Chicago. And now I’m here, and I can learn from the legend.” And he apparently gets the Chicago sports landscape as well. Here he is hitting us with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ Ice Man celebration at this week’s NHLPA Rookie Showcase. Rookie Showcase was incredible! It’s time for a celebration 🎊 🎉👏 — Upper Deck (@UpperDeckSports) As the Blackhawks look to take a big step up the standings this year and show significant improvement from the past few years, they’ll do it relying on young players elevating the team. We’ve seen Frondell briefly in the NHL, which gives Blackhawks fans excitement for what he can do. We’ve seen the young guys like Nazar, Moore, Greene and Nick Lardis begin to establish themselves in the NHL, which gives Blackhawks fans something to project into next season. We haven’t seen Kantserov on the ice on this side of the Atlantic yet. But what he could do to help the Blackhawks improve could make him one of the more important, impactful additions to the roster in Chicago this summer. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:11:46 GMT Tab Bamford https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57423228 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57423228 false false Comparing the contracts of Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini, and Connor Bedard, it’s clear the Blackhawks landed a bargain with Bedard. As he heads into year ... Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:46:14 GMT Locked On Blackhawks https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57422882 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57422882 false false As the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase comes to a close on Saturday in Windsor, Ontario, one Chicago Blackhawks prospect […] The post appeared first on . Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:34:16 GMT Jack Bushman https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57421248 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57421248 false false A crazy night in 1991 will forever be a part of Chicago Blackhawks lore. Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:24:46 GMT Greg Boysen https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57420354 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57420354 false false What will the Chicago Blackhawks power play look like with new additions like Patrick Kane and Bowen Byram in the mix? Steve Peters breaks down how Chicago's... Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:28:58 GMT CHGO Sports https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57419716 https://sportspyder.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/articles/57419716 false false