Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Sports Alliance, which includes the NFL's Bears, NBA's Bulls, NHL's Blackhawks and MLB's Cubs and White Sox, made a commitment of $300,000 to find "evidence-based solutions to gun violence" after recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo.

Here's the teams' full statement:

On Tuesday, 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

That tragedy occurred less than two weeks after a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store killed 10 people.

Both shootings were carried out by gunmen who used high-powered assault rifles.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr delivered one of the most impassioned speeches about his desire for improved gun-control measures on Tuesday:

It's one snippet of the effort made by sports teams and players since the shootings.

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays used their social-media accounts to raise awareness about gun violence rather than providing game coverage during Thursday's contest.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd, a Texas native, started a GoFundMe fundraiser to benefit the families whose children were killed in Uvalde.

"These are children, man. ... Try to put that in your mind," Boyd said. "I saw something on Twitter that said they had to identify these kids by their backpacks. I was devastated. I cried."

Donations from the Chicago sports franchises will benefit two organizations.

The Robb School Memorial Fund was set up to help families impacted by the tragedy.

The Sandy Hook Promise Foundation was established after a 2012 school shooting in Connecticut where 20 children and six staff members were killed. It aims to "honor all victims of gun violence by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation."

Chicago's teams said they are "committed to making a difference through our resources in this gun violence epidemic."

The Montreal Canadiens went from a Stanley Cup Final in 2021 to picking No. 1 overall in the 2022 NHL draft during a year in which the Habs are hosting the event at Bell Centre.

What a wild year it's been for one of the NHL's most historic franchises. Montreal is going to party like it's 1993. 

Shane Wright is the projected first overall pick. There has been some debate as to whether or not the OHL center is worthy of the honor after a slow start to the season, but 94 points in 63 games with the Kingston Frontenacs was good enough to land him on top of the NHL's Central Scouting bureau's latest prospect rankings. 

The New Jersey Devils are picking second, marking the fourth time in six years the club has selected in the top five. The Arizona Coyotes, who had the second-best odds to land the first pick, will select third, the Seattle Kraken fourth and the Philadelphia Flyers will go fifth. 

The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings won a few too many games and they'll go seventh and eighth, respectively. The Columbus Blue Jackets got the Chicago Blackhawks' sixth pick as part of the terms of the Seth Jones trade and they'll make two selections in the first round. 

Let's take a look at some of the highs and lows from the night with draft lottery winners and losers. 

Winner: Montreal Canadiens

Wright should start brushing up on his French. 

The OHL forward is one of eight players in CHL history to be granted exceptional status and he was clearly worthy, scoring 39 goals in 58 games as a 15-year-old. A speedy, skilled center like Wright is the perfect building block piece for a team like the Habs. Putting Wright behind Nick Suzuki will give them a 1-2 punch up the middle that can grow together as new general manager Kent Hughes and president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton build around those two and winger Cole Caufield. 

Last year, the Canadiens were the talk of the draft for the wrong reason. Former general manager Marc Bergevin stood at the podium at Bell Centre and defiantly chose Logan Mailloux, a prospect who had asked teams not to choose him after he was convicted of a crime of sexual nature in Sweden. There was some concern that it would damage the brand and isolate women who support the team. 

But Bergevin was fired less than two months into the 2021-22 season and he's now working under Rob Blake in Los Angeles. It's a new era in Montreal, and though it likely won't be a successful one right away, the team has turned the page and the excitement is rapidly building. 

Loser: Philadelphia Flyers

This is a big offseason for general manager Chuck Fletcher. The Flyers don't have a coach, a clear team identity or a clear direction in which the team is headed. The club has decided to stick with the GM it hired in the fall of 2018 as they attempt an "aggressive retool" after a season Fletcher described as "beyond unacceptable." 

It's not that the fifth pick is bad. The general consensus is that this is a very good draft class, but one that still has some question marks after Wright.

Maybe they end up with another center like Matthew Savoie, a very skilled and disciplined playmaker. Maybe it's a big defenseman like David Jiricek they can pair with Ivan Provorov in the future (should they keep Provorov).

The 2023 class is absolutely loaded, but this one has a lot of high-end talent, so the Flyers are going to get a quality player and a possible franchise cornerstone. It just might not be one that makes an impact right away. Fletcher said he's not asking fans to wait 5-7 years for a winning product and a player like Wright, who could step into a lineup next season, would have helped expedite that retool. 

Winner: New Jersey Devils

The Devils have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to prospects these days, which is a change from some lottery seasons a few years ago. The cupboards were pretty bare when they took Swiss center Nico Hischier at No. 1 overall in 2017. They can add another talented young player to that stockpile with the second overall pick.

Things were looking up three years ago when they chose Jack Hughes with the first overall pick, but things quickly fell apart. And now the club is at a crossroads: This rebuild cannot last forever. 

The fans have been angry for years since this was not a club that really underwent any significant rebuilds when longtime former general manager and president Lou Lamoriello was running the show. But they've made the playoffs just once since 2012 and this last season was marred by injuries to top players like Hughes and Dougie Hamilton and bad goaltending. 

They won't find that goaltender with the No. 2 pick, but it could help them obtain one.

Could general manager Tom Fitzgerald be swayed to give it up for a true No. 1 goalie? He seemed to be open to the possibility last week when he addressed the media in his end-of-season press conference, saying if he see a trade that would upgrade the NHL roster he would not hesitate to make it.

The Anaheim Ducks are rebuilding, and John Gibson is rumored to be on the market. Or maybe it's an impact defenseman to play with Hamilton or a high-end winger for Hughes. 

There are tons of possibilities and the Devils are in a good spot with that second pick. 

Loser: Arizona Coyotes

All that tanking and the desert dogs only got the third pick. 

Look, it's not that the No. 3 overall pick is a bad thing, but a player like Wright would bring some much-needed excitement and talent to a team in desperate need of both. 

The Coyotes will play next season and possibly beyond at Arizona State's new rink. No offense to the Sun Devils because that program is a great success story of the growth of hockey in an untraditional market, but an NHL team shouldn't be playing in a 5000-seat college rink intended for intramural sports. The morale is low in the desert right now and for good reason.

Arizona can continue tanking next season to get Connor Bedard or Matvei Michkov. Maybe by the time Michkov, a KHL player who is under contract with SKA St. Petersburg through 2025, is able to play in North America the new arena in Tempe that has long been promised will finally be completed. 

Winner: Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres have a whopping three first-round picks, while the Blue Jackets have two lottery picks. Both teams have options when it comes to using those selections. 

Columbus didn't move up or down, but it did get the Blackhawks first-round pick. Had Chicago won either of the top two picks, the Blue Jackets would have received the first-round pick next year. Chicago did Columbus a solid with such a dismal season but not too dismal, and as a result the team received the sixth pick and the Jones trade was finally completed.

Last season, the Blue Jackets used two of their 2021 draftees, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger, and saw good production and development from both. They're hoping to replicate that success as they build toward becoming a playoff team in the near future.

This is a chance for the Sabres to grab a few more prospects and show that they have improved their player development program. So far, it appears as though strides have been made in this area, as is evidenced by center Tage Thompson and his breakout season, but these next few years be crucial for a franchise that tries to shed its losing reputation and prove that it can develop talent and build a winning team. 

Loser: Chicago Blackhawks

This was the result of bad management. The 'Hawks went all in last summer and as a result, they gave up that pick in the Jones trade. Former general manager Stan Bowman made a short-sighted decision to try and load up in an attempt to give Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews one more chance at a Stanley Cup. But Bowman resigned amid following the investigation of the sexual assault allegations against Brad Aldrich and the team was bad right from the start. They fired coach Jeremy Colliton and Derek King still has the interim tag. 

The Blackhawks took the interim tag off of general manager Kyle Davidson, and it sure sounds like he's going to start rebuilding. A first-round pick sure would help jump-start a rebuild, but the 'Hawks will have to wait until next year to select one.

The NHL Players' Association on Friday announced the findings from an independent report into the Chicago Blackhawks' handling of the Kyle Beach investigation conducted by law firm Cozen O'Connor. 

The investigation determined it could not "identify any individual wrongdoing or institutional failures of policy or procedure" by NHLPA executive director Don Fehr, NHLPA personnel or the SABH program "concerning the handling of Beach's reports." 

The findings come after Fehr recommended the NHLPA hire an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into how it handled sexual assault allegations made by Beach against former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich. 

Beach said in October 2021 he was sexually assaulted by Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs in an interview with TSN's Rick Westhead. He was listed as "John Doe" in the initial civil law suit against the team.

The Blackhawks then hired law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the allegations, and the organization was fined $2 million by the NHL after it concluded Chicago senior executives, including general manager Stan Bowman and senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac, were aware of the allegations but didn't do anything to address them until after the team's Stanley Cup run. Bowman and MacIsaac both resigned from the franchise. 

The Jenner & Block investigation also stated Fehr was notified twice about the allegations against Aldrich. He told investigators he couldn't remember either conversation related to the Blackhawks video coach, though he didn't deny they occurred. 

During his interview with Westhead, Beach said he had "reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA" and questioned how Fehr could continue to serve as the NHLPA's executive director. 

Based on the findings of the Cozen O'Connor investigation, it appears Fehr will remain in his position with the union.

The Marc-Andre Fleury era in Chicago was short-lived and shortsighted.

It probably shouldn't have even happened, but for some reason, former general manager Stan Bowman decided to go for it this season. The Vegas Golden Knights, in need of salary cap space, dealt the 2021 Vezina Trophy winner to Chicago over the summer.

Chicago then traded Fleury on Monday morning—the biggest deal of the trade deadline—to the Minnesota Wild for a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 draft that will become a first-round pick if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and Fleury wins at least four games in the first two rounds. The Blackhawks retained 50 percent of his salary. 

Fleury helped bail out a defense that didn't give him much help and played a leadership role in the locker room that the consummate pro has always excelled at. The 37-year-old put up good, but maybe not great numbers this season, going 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage. 

Despite his initial hesitation to play in Chicago, he was hesitant to move again after his family had settled in the area and grown to enjoy it. He used his no-trade clause to leverage a move to a contender, which is where he belonged from the start.

The big winner here is Fleury, who is now in a position to win his fourth Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, Minnesota might have one of the more enviable goaltending situations in the league at a time when many of the contenders are facing questions in net. Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen were fine, but fine isn't what a team needs when chasing a Stanley Cup.

The two combined for a .908 save percentage, which was toward the bottom of the league. From February 16 to March 13, the Wild went 4-9-1 and allowed 65 goals.

While his underlying metrics have been good, Kahkonen, still only 25, hasn't had a win in nearly a month. He's gone 0-5-1 in that span and allowed 21 goals (.873 save percentage). That was enough for general manager Bill Guerin to look for an upgrade.

He flipped Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks shortly after he acquired his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate in Fleury. Now, the tandem in St. Paul is Fleury and Talbot.

While Talbot has been solid for the Wild this year, even earning an All-Star nod, there have been questions about whether or not he is a goalie who can take a team deep into the postseason.

Maybe he will be, but the pressure is off of him to do all the heavy lifting. Coach Dean Evason can use a 1-A and 1-B system to split their starts and keep the duo fresh down the stretch, a luxury many teams in playoff positions do not have.

Guerin insists that Talbot does not feel slighted by the move, telling reporters that they had been in communication throughout the process and lauding the goalie's professionalism. 

"There's no room for petty bulls--t," the general manager said. "We're on a team together, and we're trying to we're trying to win, and Cam is an unbelievable teammate, so I know he's going to be awesome."

The Toronto Maple Leafs had reportedly flirted with the idea of adding Fleury, and a public spat between Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson and Toronto GM Kyle Dubas confirmed as much. The Washington Capitals had been eyeing Fleury all season, with subpar goaltending being the team's biggest weakness. 

If anyone knows how important trade deadline acquisitions are, it's Guerin, who was one himself in 2009 when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. And if anyone knows what Fleury is like at his best, it's Guerin. 

The Wild may not have been on his list initially, but upon landing in Minnesota on Monday night, he told reporters that the fans and the atmosphere at Xcel Energy Center had helped change his mind. The Blackhawks played in Minnesota on Saturday, and as Fleury sat on the visitors' bench, he liked what he saw and said they look like a playoff team.

The club also added forwards Tyson Jost and Nicolas Deslauriers last week and defenseman Jacob Middleton in the Kahkonen deal. These were savvy moves that should help with the overall roster depth during the postseason. The Wild are deeper, tougher and better able to go to battle in a long series against a team like Colorado.

"I was a little worried about chemistry and things like that because it's gone really well this year," Guerin said, "but when the players that we acquired became available, they can all help our team, and I'm so confident in the group that we already have, that they'll welcome these guys with open arms."

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights visit the Wild on Monday night. Fleury is not slated to start, but his presence still rubs salt in the wound for a team that has not cruised through the season as it was expected to

Vegas won the Jack Eichel sweepstakes, but other injuries have hamstrung the team this season and left them chasing the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers and even the rebuilding Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division.

The goalie the Knights chose over Fleury? He's hurt too. Robin Lehner has been battling a lower-body injury all season. 

It's an unfortunate reminder of the turn of events from last summer for Vegas, but Fleury and his new team are happy to reap the benefits.

The Minnesota Wild officially announced the acquisition of veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, sending the Chicago Blackhawks a conditional first-round draft pick.

The pick will remain a first if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and Fleury earns four total wins in the first two rounds, via Larry Hawley of WGN. Chicago will otherwise receive only a second-round pick from Minnesota.

"Excited to play hockey," Fleury said after the trade, via Vince Sapienza of Fox5 Vegas. "Looking forward to being there and see what happens."

Chicago's decision to acquire Fleury raised eyebrows at the time, partly because it wasn't immediately clear whether the 37-year-old would actually suit up for the Blackhawks.

The Athletic's Rob Rossi, Scott Powers, Mark Lazerus reported in July he was "totally shocked" by his trade from the Vegas Golden Knights and "doesn't want to play there" in reference to his new team.

The Blackhawks were also a franchise on the way down, having missed the playoffs in three out of the last four years. Fleury might have been the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, but he was also in the last year of a contract that pays him $7 million in 2021-22.

Between that trade and Seth Jones' eight-year, $76 million extension, it was an odd offseason in the Windy City.

Despite the best efforts of the front office, the Blackhawks are seventh in the Central Division with 53 points, making a trip to the postseason unlikely.

Because of that, there was little reason to think Fleury would finish the year in Chicago. While his contract includes a modified no-trade clause, one assumed he would prefer to suit up for a contender before hitting the open market again in the offseason.

And there was little doubt as to his value for a team aiming to lift the Stanley Cup.

His 2.95 goals-against average is on pace to be his highest since 2016-17, but his .908 save percentage is closer to his career average (.912). His high number of goals allowed is partially attributable to the fact that he has faced the seventh-most shots (1,398) in the league.

Expecting to get the Vezina Trophy version of Fleury is unrealistic. His performance had been trending in the wrong direction before 2020-21, so that's likely to be an outlier at this stage of his career.

But the three-time Stanley Cup winner continues to be effective between the pipes, and there's no question about whether he can thrive in the playoffs.

Fleury will help fortify the Wild's defense and give them a great 1-2 combo in goal with Cam Talbot. Minnesota entered Monday third in the NHL in goals scored per game but ranks just 22nd in goals allowed.

The new addition could help the team get over the top as a contender in the West. 

Center Jonathan Toews is a Chicago Blackhawks legend, but even that isn't enough for him to feel safe ahead of Monday's trade deadline.

"If he's not a guy that's a part of a rebuild, then I don't know," Toews said, per Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. "I don't know if anyone feels safe at this point."

The comments came after the Blackhawks traded left-winger Brandon Hagel, a 2022 fourth-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forwards Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk, a top-10 protected 2023 first-round pick and a top-10 protected 2024 first-round pick, per Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports.

"I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that," general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement, per Roumeliotis. "Getting two first round draft picks as well as two, young, NHL players helps us kickstart that process in a major way. We know that Brandon Hagel was a fan favorite—our fans loved him for all the reasons we loved him—and we know he will be successful with the Lightning."

Chicago is rebuilding, but Hagel is just 23 years old. It's not as if he is an aging veteran who wouldn't be a major contributor when the team is once again ready to compete for a Stanley Cup. 

He had 37 points on 21 goals and 16 assists in 55 games for Chicago this season, which are all career-best marks. He joins a Lightning team in championship-or-bust mode after winning the last two Stanley Cups and could be a key contributor down the stretch.

Tampa Bay is 39-15-6 and four points behind the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division. It is also just one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and five points ahead of the Boston Bruins in a tight race heading into the final push of the regular season.

As for the Blackhawks, they are 22-30-9 and on their way to a second straight season without making the playoffs. They haven't made it past the first round since they won the Stanley Cup in 2015, which was their third title in a six-year span.

It is that stretch of championships that makes a potential Toews or Patrick Kane trade so noteworthy.

On the one hand, the team is not in contention, and Toews will be 34 years old in April and Kane is 33. On the other hand, they are both future Hall of Famers who have become synonymous with the Blackhawks and were driving forces behind those championships.

Trading them would send shockwaves through the organization and its fans, even if there was some hockey sense behind such moves. Toews clearly believes that possibility is still on the table given his comments.