There’s a lot. Let’s get right to it.
The first news of the day involved a front-office departure, as assistant GM Jeff Greenberg is headed back to baseball:
Greenberg joined the Blackhawks after spending a decade in the front office of the Chicago Cubs and, as Ben Pope of the Sun-Times pointed out on Twitter, was a key part of the Blackhawks expanding analytics department in the front office. Statements from GM Kyle Davidson and Greenberg himself were released following the news:
Davidson: “We will miss Jeff’s expertise and appreciate the contributions he made to the Blackhawks. We all wish him and his family the best in this incredible opportunity with the Detroit Tigers. Our Hockey Operations department is full of talented leaders and I have full confidence in that team to continue working towards our goals of sustained success. Off the ice, the processes and systems are in place to develop our team on the ice. I look forward to continuing that journey with our group.”
Greenberg: “I appreciate what Danny Wirtz, Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks organization have done for me and my family. We will forever be thankful for the opportunity I was provided with the organization. I know the club is on the right path to success with the leadership they have in place and the vision they are building for the future. I look forward to this new challenge and the Blackhawks will always have a special place in my heart.”
Back on the ice, a trio of players were not around for Thursday’s opening day of practice:
Coach Luke Richardson later told assembled media that the injuries did not appear to be serious.
Speaking of Richardson, the former NHL blue-liner can still move, as he proved on Thursday:
Connor Bedard was the main attraction of the idea, for obvious reasons.
Of course, Bedard received podium time after practice and covered a wide range of topics, everything from adapting to the NHL to his early impressions of Chicago to cooking, apparently:
Is it too early to talk about D pairings and forward combinations? You bet your ass it isn’t!
During Tuesday’s media session, Davidson announced that the Blackhawks will not be naming a captain for the season, leaving that spot vacant. But early returns have offseason acquisition Nick Foligno as one of the emerging leaders of the team:
More on the decision to not name a captain from veteran defenseman Connor Murphy, who — believe it or not — is the longest-tenured Blackhawks player on the roster this season:
Day 1’s done. the first preseason game arrives next Thursday and the season opener is now less inside of three weeks away. Hockey season’s here, folks.