The bye week continues with the Blackhawks off until Saturday afternoon. Here’s more on why the Hawks don’t play until the weekend, and an explanation of the salary cap trickery that caused them to send four rookies to the AHL for the week.
Here’s some news.
HAWKS
**The Hawks had high hopes for Ryan Hartman, and now he’s living up to them. (The Athletic)
**Jonathan Toews hints at desire for fewer lineup changes (SCH)
**The season finale of Soup & A Sandwich gets intense (SCH)
**Teams are losing hope they’ll be able to pry John Hayden away (SCH)
**A look at how the Hawks are adjusting to a quirky schedule (CSN Chicago)
**Alex DeBrincat is piling up milestones as his OHL career comes to a close. (The Athletic)
CENTRAL DIVISION
**Patrik Laine is complicating the NHL Calder Trophy race. (SB Nation)
**Would the Blues deal Patrik Berglund? (STLGT)
**Ten upcoming free agents the Stars should target in the offseason (Defending Big D)
**Comparing this year’s Pekka Rinne to last year’s (OTF)
NHL
**Marc Bergevin says firing Michel Therrien had nothing to do with the Bruins’ recent coaching move. (SB Nation)
**Jaromir Jagr scored his 1,900th point in the NHL. Jeez, that’s a lot. (Puck Daddy)
**Gustav Nyquist got a six-game suspension for high-sticking, which the same punishment Duncan Keith got last year for a similarly egregious infraction. (WIIM)
**The Capitals acquired Los Angeles’ Tom Gilbert in a minor trade. (SB Nation)
**The Red Wings are wearing a special patch to honor former owner Mike Ilitch, who died recently. (SB Nation)
**The Senators could trade Curtis Lazar for another young player in a change-of-scenery kind of deal. (Silver Seven Sens)
HOCKEY WORLD
**Breaking down the NHL-CWHL partnership (The Ice Garden)
**What’s wrong with Boston College hockey? (SBN College Hockey)