Guess who’s playing hockey this morning?! The Blackhawks kick off their training camp at the University of Notre Dame today in anticipation of opening the regular season on Oct. 9. We’ll be keeping an eye on the action throughout the weekend, and make sure to update you if there’s anything progress on the whole “trade a dude to get below the cap” situation. TODAY IS GREAT DAY THOUGH. Onto the news!
**Here are the 52 guys invited to Blackhawks training camp this year, including a surprise appearance from Cam Barker (Second City Hockey)
**The Rockford IceHogs signed 23-year-old LW Jamie Wise to an AHL contract for 2014-15 (IceHogs)
**You’ve probably already heard the panic since it was announced that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will miss the start of training camp with physical ailments (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
**Josh Harding breaking his foot is bad for the Wild. The way he did doesn’t help matters: “[Harding] broke his right foot while kicking a wall after an off-ice altercation with a teammate” (Star Tribune)
**Jaromir Jagr says he wants to play until he’s 50. Please do, you supernatural puck-passing demon, you. (Fire & Ice)
**Anthony Mantha, who was supposed to compete for a top-six forward spot in Detroit, will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks by a fractured right tibia. Tough break for the Red Wings as they hope to avoid the avalanche of injuries that plagued them last season. (The Detroit News)
**The Blue Jackets could be entering the year with Nathan Horton at less than 100 percent again. Not exactly what Columbus had in mind after forking over that massive contract, I’m guessing. (Columbus Dispatch)
**Jaden Schwartz should be an important part of the Blues‘ future, but he’s not at camp and it doesn’t sound like the team is anxious for a resolution (Pro Hockey Talk)
**Wayne Simmonds will likely get the nod as an assistant captain for the Flyers next season (Courier-Post)
**This could be it for Kimmo Timonen, who is out for months while recovering from blood clots in his lower right leg and lungs. He hasn’t officially ruled out playing this season, but things obviously don’t look great at this point. (Flyers)
**Sounds like Teemu Selanne and Bruce Boudreau didn’t quite get along back in the day. (SB Nation)
**The Sharks had a bonding sesh in Lake Tahoe and now Joe Thornton says they’ll “have 23 captains” — also known as having no captains — next season. (Mercury News)
**The Maple Leafs are denying issues between Phil Kessel and the team’s coaching staff (Pro Hockey Talk)
**Dave Lozo looks at how much it matters if a team goes an entire season without a captain (Bleacher Report)
**Remembering the Hartford Whalers, a team with a spectacular logo/color combination that deserves to live on forever (SB Nation)
**Rich Peverley has started working out again after his scary collapse during a Stars game in March. He’s still awaiting clearance to begin skating again, however. (Dallas Morning News)
**Colton Gillies is heading to camp with the Islanders (Newsday)
**Brian Lee is getting the same treatment in Nashville (Predators)