NHL Central

The Chicago Blackhawks announced Tuesday that team chairman William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz has died. He was 70.

Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz, the son of Rocky Wirtz, said in a statement:

Our hearts are very heavy today. Our dad was a passionate businessman committed to making Chicago a great place to live, work and visit, but his true love was for his family and close friends. He was a loving father, a devoted husband to Marilyn, a brother, a nephew, an uncle and a doting grandfather to his six remarkable grandchildren. His passing leaves a huge hole in the hearts of many and we will miss him terribly.

Wirtz took over as Blackhawks chairman in September 2007 following the death of his father, Bill. The announcement was somewhat of a surprise as his brother, Peter, was named the owner before giving up control to Rocky.

Wirtz quickly revitalized the Blackhawks into a perennial playoff contender following years of disappointment. One of his largest moves was getting the team's home games on local television in Chicago after his father refused to do so.

It was around that same time that Chicago built one of the most successful teams of the last two decades highlighted by the drafting of franchise icons Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who helped the club win three Stanley Cups—2010, 2013 and 2015.

Additionally, the Blackhawks reached the playoffs in nine straight seasons from 2009-2017 and also reached the postseason during the 2019-20 campaign.

However, Wirtz's tenure was tarnished by the October 2021 release of the Jenner and Block report detailing the franchise's mishandling of sexual assault allegations made by former player Kyle Beach against former video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Wirtz was found to have been unaware of the allegations, though the report led to major changes within the organization, including the firing of general manager Stan Bowman. The NHL also fined the franchise $2 million.

In recent seasons, Wirtz watched general manager Kyle Davidson begin the rebuilding of a franchise desperate for a turnaround, and landing top prospect Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft should only accelerate the process.

The Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday that they have placed veteran forward Alex Galchenyuk on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract just 12 days after he agreed to a one-year deal with the Western Conference club.

The Coyotes "discovered an 'off-ice situation' impacting Galchenyuk that was previously unknown to the team," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. The NHLPA is reviewing the decision on Galchenyuk's behalf.

The Coyotes said in a statement:

"We are aware of the incident involving Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of behavior. Once the Club was made aware of the allegations, we immediately began the process of terminating his Standard Player's Contract through the proper channels in conjunction with the National Hockey League. As a result, the Arizona Coyotes today have exercised the team's right to terminate the contract of Alex Galchenyuk due to a material breach of the terms of his Standard Player's Contract. The Club will have no further comment at this time."

Galchenyuk agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Coyotes worth $775,000 on July 1, the first day of free agency. He'll be an unrestricted free agent again if he clears waivers.

The 29-year-old previously spent the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons in Arizona. The Coyotes acquired him in the 2018 trade that sent Max Domi to the Montreal Canadiens and he rejoined the franchise as a free agent in 2021. He amassed 25 goals and 37 assists for 62 points in 132 games.

Galchenyuk spent the 2022-23 season with the Colorado Avalanche and the club's AHL affiliate Colorado Eagles. He didn't tally a single point in 11 games with the Avs before being demoted to the Eagles, where he notched 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in 42 games.

Galchenyuk began his career with the Canadiens, which selected him third overall in the 2012 draft.

The Wisconsin native showed plenty of promise in his six seasons with the Habs from 2012-2018, tallying 108 goals and 147 assists for 255 points in 418 games, but he hasn't found that same level of success since exiting the franchise following the 2017-18 season.

In addition to the Avalanche, Canadiens and Coyotes, Galchenyuk has also had stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs.

NASHVILLE -- Rebuilds aren't exactly fun.

Parting ways with team legends is painful and losing a lot of games makes everyone question if it's worth it at all to do it. Turning around an organization that's moving on from the past requires the resolve to actually do it and the ability to say goodbye to franchise icons that brought past glory without looking back.

The Chicago Blackhawks drafting Connor Bedard first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft is the kind of good luck that comes along once a generation in hockey. Bedard is the key that allows the Blackhawks' management and their fans to put the championship years of the 2010s behind them and start dreaming truthfully about winning Stanley Cups again in the 2020s.

"It still doesn't feel real, to be honest. It's so crazy," Bedard said. "I have such a passion for hockey, and it's all I really want to do. I'm just trying to kind of take things one day at a time. This is of course a big step in the journey, and very exciting day for my family."

Bedard has come with the hype befitting a future megastar. He's been in the spotlight since he was 14 years old and granted exceptional status to play in the Canadian Hockey League at 15. All eyes have been on him since to see how he would develop and what kind of player he would be. The countless goals and assists over the past three seasons with the Regina Pats confirmed he was indeed exceptional. Now, he'll be the cornerstone of Chicago's eventual resurgence.

"We're very fortunate," Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson said. "I know it was very tough to make the decision to move on from Jonathan and Patrick and not knowing who's on the other side of that was not easy. And so, folks thought it was the best course of action, whether we won the lottery moved up or not. Luckily, we did. It's a tough decision, but luckily we won the lottery and here we are."

While luck was certainly helpful, Davidson had to do work to help set the foundation to build upon a year ago and that wasn't exactly easy to do. Chicago went into the 2022 draft without a first-round pick and made three separate trades to secure three first-round picks. With those selections, they took defenseman Kevin Korchinski seventh overall, forward Frank Nazar at 13 and defenseman Sam Rinzel at 25.

Now that Bedard and speedy American forward Oliver Moore, who they selected with the 19th pick, are in place after the first round this year, it's hard not to think back to past Chicago drafts when they landed Toews, Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Will history repeat itself? There's good reason to think it could, but reason enough to be skeptical at the same time.

Bedard is the absolute sure thing and the way he plays is going to make everyone on the ice with him exponentially better. But as we've seen with Connor McDavid, it'll take more than one player to get Chicago back to the level it wants to achieve. Even Kane, despite his all-world talent, needed Toews and others for them to be champions.

It meant drafting Niklas Hjalmarsson to provide an edge on defense and Brian Campbell to move the puck with skill and ease through all zones. Adding Marian Hossa in free agency brought them to the next level as a scorer and an elite defensive forward up front. Role players like Michal Handzus, Colin Fraser and Michael Frolik gave them a unit of checking-line forwards to grind up opponents. It also meant having Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford solidify goaltending to win separate titles.

The building blocks with great drafting, including a No. 1 pick, are what got the first Chicago dynastic run to produce three Stanley Cups. With Bedard as the literal centerpiece, the Blackhawks are officially off and running to get back to the top of the league. It's not going to happen immediately, but following the same blueprint can get them back there sooner than anyone would've thought when they started dismantling the roster in recent years.

Bedard knows the trek for Lord Stanley begins with a single step and if (read: when) he makes the team, his introduction to the NHL will begin Oct. 10 against another generational player whose team built themselves through the draft and grew together over the years: Sidney Crosby.

"I was trying not to look at the schedule," Bedard said. "Some people were telling me; I didn't want to look too hard into it. But man, if I'm able to make the squad come October, (Crosby has been a) childhood idol, ever since I can remember. That would be unbelievable. It's a little bit of time away. I think I'll kind of dream about it now, but hopefully, that comes."

We're going out on a limb here in thinking Bedard will be on the Opening-Night roster. For Blackhawks fans, they'll be hoping it'll be the first of many in a long, successful career in the Windy City.

Connor Bedard was thinking about his grandfather, Garth, when he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick of Wednesday's NHL draft.

The Chicago Blackhawks draftee revealed he carried around a poker chip with a photograph of his grandfather, who died in a car accident in 2021 at the age of 73:

Bedard opened up about his grandfather in an interview with Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com in March and discussed how Garth's positivity and work ethic remained an inspiration as the prospect continued his hockey career.

"I don't wear anything that was his, but I'm always thinking about him," Bedard said. "I think he's definitely someone I play for now. During the Canadian (national) anthem before each game, he's someone I'm thinking about. Hopefully he's still watching. ... He loved to watch hockey. I hope I'm making him proud."

Bedard will attempt to make his grandfather proud as the next franchise cornerstone of the Blackhawks.

He is widely seen as the type of generational talent who can anchor a franchise for years to come, and there was no doubt Chicago was going to pick him from the moment it was fortunate enough to win the NHL draft lottery.

The Chicago Blackhawks selected Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday night, and we already know what number he will wear during his rookie season.

Instead of the standard No. 23 jersey, Bedard was presented with a No. 98 jersey when Chicago selected him first overall. He will become the first player in franchise history to wear the number.

Fans were excited to immediately buy jerseys of the new Blackhawks star as soon as they became available:

Bedard had long been expected to go No. 1 overall in this year's draft following a standout career in the Western Hockey League, which began with him being granted exceptional status to play for the Regina Pats as a 15 year old in 2020-21.

The 17-year-old is coming off an improbable 2022-23 campaign that saw him tally 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in 57 games, and now he'll be tasked with helping accelerate the Blackhawks rebuild.

The Chicago Blackhawks have officially selected the man that will take them through the next generation.

Chicago selected 17-year-old prospect Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft on Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Bedard needed no introduction to the NHL as fans across the globe have been salivating at his potential for the last year, and now that he's finally arrived, the excitement has reached its peak:

Bedard is perhaps the most hyped prospect since the Edmonton Oilers selected Connor McDavid first overall in the 2015 draft, and there's no question that he has the tools to become the NHL's next big thing.

The Canadian began his rise to fame with the Regina Pats when he was granted exceptional status by the Western Hockey League as a 15 year old in 2020-21. He then became the youngest player in league history to score 50 goals when he potted 51 goals in 62 games during the 2021-22 campaign.

During the 2022-23 season with Regina, Bedard amassed an improbable 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in 57 games. It was the most points scored by a WHL player since 1995-96.

Bedard has been just as good on the international stage for Team Canada. In 16 world junior championship games, he has tallied 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points, which ranks fourth on the tournament list behind Hockey Hall of Famers Peter Forsberg (42 points in 14 GP) and Pavel Bure (39 points in 21 GP), in addition to Robert Reichel (40 points in 21 GP).

After finishing the 2022-23 campaign with a 26-49-7 record and missing the playoffs for the third straight season, there is now some hope that Bedard can help the franchise return to prominence within the next few years.

Blackhawks fans are in for a treat as Bedard should help accelerate the franchise's rebuild alongside Taylor Raddysh, Philipp Kurashev and MacKenzie Entwistle. Not to mention it's also huge for Chicago to land this type of prospect immediately after the Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane era came to a close