Second City Hockey
SB Nation's home for Chicago Blackhawks news.
Total reads
2,447
This week
8
Rank
#95 of 413
Published
512 posts
Most read posts
Featured on Sportsblogs
Run this blog? Add the badge to your site to show readers you're featured — it links back to this page.
Latest Entries
Thursday Morning Bag Skate 7-2-26
(Editor’s note: Last one of these for the week. Enjoy the holiday weekend!) This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Blackhawks, Byram agree to contract extension ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Tribune ) ( Athletic ) Blackhawks sign forward Cole Smith ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks sign defenseman Ian Cole ( SCH ) ( Athletic ) Musings on Madison, Episode 213 — Reactions to the Byram trade and the Blackhawks’ draft picks ( SCH ) Ha...
Blackhawks sign forward Cole Smith
The Chicago Blackhawks added a defensive-minded forward on the opening day of free agency, signing veteran winger Cole Smith to a three-year, $3 million AAV contract Wednesday morning. Cole Smith is going to the #Blackhawks : 3 years x $3 million. — Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2026 [UPDATE] The Blackhawks made the signing official a couple of hours later: Hawks fans, meet Cole Smith‼️ 📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/bgQC91qAxI pic.twitter.com/TOhJrYz5CF — Chicago Bl...
Blackhawks sign defenseman Ian Cole
The Blackhawks entered Wednesday’s free agency period with an extremely young group of blue-liners and have reportedly added a veteran defenseman to remedy that. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic was among the reporters who shared the news of Chicago signing Ian Cole to a one-year deal worth up to $4.75 million, as detailed below Wednesday morning: Ian Cole to Chicago, one year deal with $4M base salary plus $750k in possible bonuses so can be total of $4.75 M — Pierre LeBrun (@Pie...
2026 NHL Free Agency Open Thread
The free-agent market officially opens at 11 a.m. CT on Wednesday morning. Head down to the comments to talk about all the moves!
Blackhawks, Byram agree to contract extension
In his first media call since being traded to Chicago, Bowen Byram was adamant that he wanted to be a part of the organization for a long time. On Wednesday morning, he followed up those words with actions by reportedly signing a 6-year contract worth $75 million dollars, according to a slew of media reports. Six-year extension, $12.5 M AAV per season as per @DarrenDreger for Byram in Chicago 👀 https://t.co/YDp5QPlBgZ — Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2026 [UPDATE] The B...
Musings on Madison, Episode 213 — Reactions to the Byram trade and the Blackhawks’ draft picks
Recapping one busy week with another busy week awaiting.
Wednesday Morning Bag Skate 7-1-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Blackhawks Bits: Qualifying offers extended; development camp continues ( SCH ) Blackhawks likely to avoid silly contracts — aside from Bowen Byram — in NHL free agency ( Sun-Times ) New Blackhawks prospect Samu Alalauri adds depth to defensive prospect pool ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks 2nd-rounders arrive for camp: “It’s a sick city” ( Tribune ) Blackhawks free agency, trades, offer sheets: Mo...
Blackhawks Bits: Qualifying offers extended; development camp continues
Let’s catch up on a few news items following the draft and on the eve of Wednesday’s free-agent frenzy. On Monday, the Blackhawks extended qualifying offers to four players who were all drafted by Chicago: #Blackhawks tendered qualified offers to Connor Bedard, Drew Commesso, Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski, as expected. — Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) June 29, 2026 Those offers ensure Chicago can continue negotiating with those four players when their entry-le...
Tuesday Morning Bag Skate 6-30-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Blackhawks give qualifying offers to four RFAs, including Connor Bedard ( Sun-Times ) SCH Draft Articles: No. 34 pick Xavier Villeneuve , No. 35 pick Ryan Roobroeck , No. 66 pick Samu Alalauri , No. 194 pick Alexander Ivanov , No. 200 pick William Sorband Blackhawks notes from NHL draft: Kyle Davidson still “looking to make some stuff happen” ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks Draft Recaps: ( Sun-Times ) ...
Monday Morning Bag Skate 6-29-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS SCH Draft Articles: No. 34 pick Xavier Villeneuve , No. 35 pick Ryan Roobroeck , No. 66 pick Samu Alalauri , No. 194 pick Alexander Ivanov , No. 200 pick William Sorband Blackhawks notes from NHL draft: Kyle Davidson still “looking to make some stuff happen” ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks Draft Recaps: ( Sun-Times ) ( Athletic ) Blackhawks trade Andre Burakovsky to Senators ( SCH ) ( Tribune ) Me...
Blackhawks select forward William Sörbrand in seventh round, No. 200 overall
The Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up their 2026 NHL Draft by taking a swing on size and physicality, selecting Swedish forward William Sörbrand with the No. 200 overall pick. welcome to the Chicago Blackhawks, William Sorbrand ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EhoerywfBW — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 27, 2026 Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 203 pounds, Sörbrand has split his time playing both center and wing with a game that is built around a heavy, north-south style. He was widely v...
Blackhawks select defenseman Alexander Ivanov in seventh round, No. 194 overall
The Chicago Blackhawks picked their third defenseman in a row at the 2026 NHL Draft by selecting Russian blueliner Alexander Ivanov in the seventh round. with the 194th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft the Chicago Blackhawks select Alexander Ivanov‼️ pic.twitter.com/GsNzDO221b — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 27, 2026 Ivanov, who just turned 18 this month, is a physically mature, well-rounded defenseman with professional experience, but his projection hinges more on the com...
Blackhawks select defenseman Samu Alalauri in third round, No. 66 overall
The Chicago Blackhawks continued to add to their blue-line depth in round three of the 2026 NHL Draft, selecting Finnish defenseman Samu Alalauri with the No. 66 pick. and with the 66th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks select Samu Alalauri‼️ pic.twitter.com/oC4WfEGyDX — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 27, 2026 A right-shot defender with NHL size at roughly 6-foot-2 and more than 200 pounds, Alalauri is viewed as a steady two-way defenseman whose game ...
Blackhawks select forward Ryan Roobroeck in second round, No. 35 overall
Soon after making their first pick on Saturday morning, the Blackhawks made their first trade, packaging pick No. 37 in the second round and pick No. 119 in the fourth round together to acquire the New Jersey Devils’ No. 35 pick in the second round. After jumping up two spots, Chicago then selected forward Ryan Roobroeck from the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs. Ryan Roobroeck YOU are a Chicago Blackhawk 🫵 pic.twitter.com/zl8tpaauHv — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 27, 2026 Ro...
Blackhawks select defenseman Xavier Villeneuve in second round, No. 34 overall
With their initial pick of the weekend, the Blackhawks drafted a defenseman from the QMJHL, selecting Xavier Villeneuve from the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. welcome to the Chicago Blackhawks Xavier Villeneuve ❤️ pic.twitter.com/D2Mpyo3bzr — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 27, 2026 Villeneuve, who’ll turn 19 in September, is a 5-foot-11, 163-pound blue-liner who’s billed as an offensive defenseman that possesses all of the traits you’d expect from a player of that arc...
2026 NHL Draft Discussion Thread
We’ve arrived at the most active part of the NHL calendar, with acquisitions aplenty over the last few days and certain continue in the days ahead alongside this weekend’s 2026 NHL Draft. This year’s event is a little less intriguing for the Blackhawks following Wednesday’s trading of the No. 4 overall pick for Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byram. Chicago currently does not have any picks during Friday’s first round but has six remaining for the other six rounds on Saturday: Round 2, 34th...
Blackhawks trade Andre Burakovsky to Senators
And so ends the Andre Burakovsky era in Chicago. The veteran forward was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Friday afternoon in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick. trade alert 🔔 pic.twitter.com/YTmiDwCZ4m — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 26, 2026 The veteran forward came to Chicago just over a year ago in a trade with the Seattle Kraken that appeared to be a salary-cap dump from Seattle, considering Burakovsky was carrying a $5.5M cap hit on a deal that expires n...
Friday Morning Bag Skate 6-26-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Meet the new Blackhawk: What are the Blackhawks getting in Bowen Byram? ( SCH ) But Does It Work? ( SCH ) Blackhawks approach NHL Draft without first-round pick as trade market keeps swirling ( Sun-Times ) Byram believes he can become a No. 1 defenseman, and the Blackhawks need him to be right ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks thoughts: Byram trade, contract negotiations and lineup projection ( Athl...
Meet the new Blackhawk: What are the Blackhawks getting in Bowen Byram?
The Chicago Blackhawks shocked the NHL world on Tuesday night by trading the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and more to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram and veteran forward Jordan Greenway. Byram was the obvious target of this deal and the cost the Blackhawks paid to acquire him certainly merits its own conversation — one that’s bound to happen over and over again this summer. But this article is going to focus on Byram more in a vacuum, evaluating what ...
But Does It Work?
Contrary to what it may have felt like while the overwhelming majority of the Blackhawks fan base was crashing out from Tuesday night’s news — this author among them — there is a world where all of this works, where the Bowen Byram trade is not viewed through lenses so tinted with disdain as it is right now. The problem is that it takes an incredible amount of squinting to get to that perspective. Of course it can work! Just about every sports trade can work, in theory. Byram’s arriv...
Wednesday Morning Bag Skate 6-24-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Articles on the Bowen Byram trade ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Tribune ) ( Athletic ) ( Athletic II ) How Chicago deployed its centers last season, how they performed and what that means going forward ( SCH ) Friends remember Kyle Calder as beloved coach after NHL days: “Hall of Fame, first ballot human” ( Athletic ) Blackhawks offseason preview: Bedard’s contract is top priority, but big addition wo...
Blackhawks acquire Byram, Greenway from Sabres for package including No. 4 overall pick
Media reports popped up all over social media on Tuesday evening regarding a developing trade between the Blackhawks and the Sabres, with the primary pieces being Chicago’s No. 4 overall pick in Friday’s draft and Buffalo blue-liner Bowen Byram. The trade was later confirmed by both teams, with the full package being Byram and veteran forward Jordan Greenway in exchange for that No. 4 overall pick, a 2026 second-round pick and Hawks defenseman Louis Crevier. trade alert 🔔 pic.twitter...
How Chicago deployed its centers last season, how they performed, and what that means going forward
It was a little after 4 p.m. Chicago time in the second week of October when the puck dropped on the 2025-26 season, with the Hawks on the road against what was then the two-time defending Cup champions in the Florida Panthers. Visiting teams announce their starters first, and new head coach Jeff Blashill played it safe. Rather than putting superstar Connor Bedard out for the opening draw — as I’m sure the TV networks were hoping — he went with his shutdown line. He started Jason Dickinso...
Tuesday Morning Bag Skate 6-23-26
This is your daily thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Friends remember Kyle Calder as beloved coach after NHL days: “Hall of Fame, first ballot human” ( Athletic ) Blackhawks offseason preview: Bedard’s contract is top priority, but big addition would be welcomed ( Sun-Times ) Could Blackhawks pursue Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram? What I’m hearing ( Athletic ) Jonathan Toews announces retirement ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Tribune ) ( Athletic ) T...
The winner of the 2026 Second City Hockey Bracket Challenge is …
Did we forget about this completely, or was it a result of two-thirds of the SCH staff being on vacation when the Stanley Cup Final ended? You be the judge! ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄ Anyway! We’ve compiled the results, crunched the numbers and/or counted all the ballots. The winner of this year’s Second City Hockey Bracket Challenge is: Cowmooooflage! They were one of just four participants who picked the Hurricanes to win it all and pulled ahead from the pack by correctl...
Displaying items 1-25 of 512 in total