Jack’s Daily: More Worlds Participants; Avalanche Take Game 4; Hawks Trade Up?

The Athletic: Speaking of the Blackhawks potentially trading up, Scott Powers and Corey Pronman collaborated to discuss the five questions to consider heading into the 2026 NHL Draft. One of those is the price of trading with the San Jose Sharks for the No. 2 overall pick.

More CHN: ICYMI — Blackhawks 2023 second-round pick Roman Kantserov has terminated his contract in the KHL to transition to North America. Kantserov is expected to sign a three-year, entry-level contract and will likely fit into Chicago’s top-six forward group in 2026-27.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

The Athletic: Chris Johnston recently dropped his early NHL free agent big board, breaking down the top 20 unrestricted free agent targets to watch this offseason. Who on this list could the Blackhawks target this summer?

Colorado Hockey Now: The lone Stanley Cup Playoff game on Monday, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2 in Game 4 of the second round, giving them a 3-1 series lead. Ross Colton and Mackenzie Blackwood were not part of the team’s plans when the postseason started, but both were key pieces of the road win. Nathan MacKinnon took a puck to the face but later returned to the game and scored the empty-netter.

ESPN: Unsurprisingly, some bad blood has brewed between the two Central Division rivals in the second-round series. After Game 4, Wild forward Michael McCarron called Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson a ‘dirty player’ for hitting him with the butt-end of his stick midway through the first period.

New Jersey Hockey Now: New Jersey Devils general manager Sunny Mehta has poached his former club by hiring Braden Birch as his assistant GM. Birch, the Panthers’ former Director of Hockey Operations and Salary Cap Management, has served in Florida since the 2016-17 season.

Sportsnet: NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported on Monday that the Edmonton Oilers may be poking around for a coaching change. Kris Knoblauch appears to be on his way out, as the Oilers asked the Vegas Golden Knights for permission to interview Bruce Cassidy, who was shockingly fired back in March. Even though Vegas declined, the writing is on the wall for Knoblauch.

Montreal Hockey Now: Following a physical Game 3 between the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, two players received fines from the NHL. Sabres forward Beck Malenstyn was fined $3,515.63 for plowing into Jakub Dobes, while Habs defenseman Arber Xhekaj was fined $3,385.42 for throwing a pair of gloved punches after the final horn sounded.

NHL.com: The Carolina Hurricanes signed forward Mark Jankowski to a two-year contract extension on Monday, with the deal carrying a $1.85 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season. Jankowski, 31, recorded 21 points (11G, 10A) in 68 regular-season games for Carolina this year.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins were certainly overachievers in Year 1 under head coach Dan Muse, and the Big 3 of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang had plenty to do with that.

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