World Championship Semis, Draft Trade Thoughts, More Coaching Moves, and Other Blackhawks Bullets xuanmai

Welcome to Memorial Day Weekend, Blackhawks fans! The semifinals of the World Championship happen this morning. The Blackhawks’ headliner game is at 11:20 AM CT as Connor Bedard and Canada will face Philipp Kurashev and Switzerland.

Speaking of the World Championships — where Sweden is undefeated — I appreciated this cheap shot at the artist formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes from veteran defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who spent 11 years in the desert. He’s skill playing with the Florida Panthers this weekend.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson says he hasn’t paid attention to Team 🇸🇪 at all in the worlds because “I’ve been doing that for 12 years.” 😂 He’s trying to “stay in the moment” with the #flapanthers. For the record, OEL has played in 7 worlds— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 22, 2024

The Blackhawks made an interesting trade on Friday afternoon, one that I didn’t expect more than a full month before the 2024 NHL Draft begins. Chicago moved up two spots in the first round — from 20 to 18 — and then moved up a few spots in the second round to No. 50 overall at the cost of their picks at No. 54 and 61. So the Blackhawks moved up twice with a late-second rounder as the throw-in cost.Obviously there’s a reason the Blackhawks would make this move this early in the offseason. Last year we all watched as they tried to move up unsuccessfully only to have Oliver Moore fall in their lap where they had their second pick in the first round. Is there a team that wanted a pick in the top 18 in a trade for an established veteran? Is there a player the Hawks are specifically targeting in the first round they are already confident won’t make it to 20? I’m fascinated to see how this trade begins dominoes for the Blackhawks this summer… stay tuned!

If you wanted to see what the day of exit interviews was like, the Blackhawks dropped the latest episode of their “Every Shift” series on Friday. I recognize a bunch of the folks in this teaser on Twitter…

There was some big front office news on Friday as Don Waddell resigned as the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes after a decade. We’ve discussed their upcoming grenade of a free agent class previously. We’re not sure what direction new GM Eric Tulsky will go in moving forward, but there are certainly some interesting players on that roster and in their free agent group who I would entertain as potential fits with the Blackhawks. I’d start with a conversation about a trade for RFA forward Martin Nečas.While we’re considering spending the Wirtz family’s money this summer, I took a long look at some free agent options for the Blackhawks this summer in light of a couple new stories that had quotes from agents and new contract projections. Give it a look!

The Winnipeg Jets have a new head coach. They’re promoting Scott Arniel to the top job to replace Rick Bowness, who retired.

Scott Arniel is the new head coach of the @NHLJets. Winnipeg conducted interviews with top candidates although Arniel was considered a frontrunner going into the process. Arniel is well respected by the players and has earned another shot at being an NHL head coach. @TSNHockey— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 24, 2024

The Vancouver Canucks also made a coaching hire on Friday… for their AHL affiliate. Former player Manny Malhotra has been named the head coach in Abbotsford, where he’ll replace our old buddy Jeremy Colliton. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports he’s in the mix for the Sharks’ head coaching job.

As part of Vancouver's press release, they subtly thank both Jeremy Colliton (now-former HC) & Gary Agnew (Abbotsford associate coach) for their work.

Colliton is among those in the running for the #SJSharks HC position. https://t.co/tWd5qKT2Km— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 24, 2024

This is a really good listen for you over the weekend. Charlie Roumeliotis sat down with Blackhawks assistant GM and director of player development Mark Eaton to discuss the prospect pool before the draft and how it progressed over the course of the 2023-24 season.

The Oilers will look to take a stunning 2-0 lead in Dallas tonight in the Western Conference final. Here’s a reminder of how Game One ended in historic fashion thanks to Connor McDavid:

I love when a baseball player takes matters into his own hands. PCA did the thing last night — again.

Finally, it’s Memorial Day weekend. To all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can argue about sports, thank you. As the grandson of a WWII veteran and friend of a few active members of our military, that service is on my mind daily.