Chicago Blackhawks Notes: NHL's Huge New TV Deal, Draft Steals, Goalie Problems, and Other Bullets (2025)

Let’s get our Tuesday started with some enormous news for the National Hockey League as a whole, not just the Blackhawks. Sportico broke the news that the NHL has agreed to a new 12-year TV deal with Rogers Communications in Canada that will pay the league a reported $7.7 billion US ($11 billion Canadian). That’s more than double the current deal’s annual payout and will start with the 2026-27 season.

The significant increase in annual value is important because of the current politics between the United States and Canada are impacting the value of the Canadian dollar, which Sportico noted in their story:

The deal will follow the league’s current 12-year deal with Rogers, which it signed in 2013. That deal was worth $5.2 billion CAD, or about $4.9 billion based on the exchange rate at the time. That total is now $3.64 billion based on today’s rates. That change highlights just one of the many ways that the NHL’sbusiness is impactedby swings in the USD-CAD exchange rate, a metric under further pressure thanks to new tensions between the countries.

I’m not going to comment on the politics or tariffs. They are impacting the value of the Canadian dollar, and that influences the salary cap. But the fact that the NHL got another huge TV deal done that kicks in soon is not only great for business for the league (read: the salary cap will continue to go up in coming years at a very nice rate), but the deal getting done now will hopefully make the next round of CBA negotiations between the league and NHLPA — which are reportedly going to get going in April — a lot more productive. The NHL is in the best financial situation in the league’s history and every indication is that the league and players have a good working relationship. Keep the hockey on the ice, folks!

🚨🏒BREAKING: The @NHL & @Rogers have agreed to a new, 12-year Canadian TV deal that will pay the league about $7.7 billion USD ($11 billion CAD)@novy_williams & @soshnick with the scoop: https://t.co/UmnwO9WeaZ pic.twitter.com/xzgTMvFsKN— Sportico (@Sportico) March 31, 2025

• Ben Pope wrote about the Blackhawks having issues between the pipes lately. Over the past few weeks, the save percentage hasn’t been good. Spencer Knight knows he needs to be better, but doesn’t think it’s necessarily a huge deal. With the amount of players moving in and out of the lineup and making their NHL debuts on the blue line lately, stuff like that can be expected to a point.

Since March 12, the Blackhawks have had the second-worst goaltending in the NHL.

That’s why they’ve gone 1-8-0 during that span despite only getting outshot 231-221.

New story: https://t.co/ADJn3POGPN— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 31, 2025

• Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff wrote a good piece about the top steals from the 2021 NHL Draft. Among the five players he spotlighted: Blackhawks defenseman Ethan Del Mastro, who was selected in the fourth round (No. 105 overall). Here’s part of what he wrote about Del Mastro:

Del Mastro is another notable prospect in the Blackhawks’ pipeline, taken just a few picks before [Carolina forward Jackson] Blake. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound defender is easy to notice out there, and he loves to make his presence known every time he hits the ice. … You could see the raw potential, but he had quiet numbers in his OHL rookie season. But from an overall standpoint, this is a guy who should have always gone in the top 60. He didn’t have any glaring weaknesses and was good in many elements of the game. The Blackhawks did their research, and it’s paying off.

I took a look at some of the top steals from the 2021 #NHLDraft.

All of them have NHL experience, such as Calder Trophy contender Jackson Blake.

For fans of #GoHabsGo   , #Sabrehood   , #RaiseUp   , #GoBolts    and #Blackhawks   :https://t.co/fKplKQQnQ3— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) March 31, 2025

• Just a reminder: Alex Ovechkin needs five goals to pass Wayne Gretzky, and the Caps are going to add Ryan Leonard to their lineup before they host the Blackhawks on Friday…

• The Boston College exodus followed the Minnesota exits on schedule with the Eagles getting bounced our of the NCAA tournament this weekend. Leonard’s long time teammate, Gabe Perreault, also signed with the New York Rangers.

• Only one postseason game that could have involved a Blackhawks prospect on Monday, but AJ Spellacywasn’t in the lineup as Windsor visited Sault Ste. Marie.

• We’ve got a heavy slate in the OHL tonight. Jack Pridham and Kitchener are at Flint at 7 PM CT. Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker and Brantford are at North Bay at 7 PM. Saginaw visits Martin Misiak, Ty Henry and Erie at 7 PM. and Kingston visits Alex Pharand and Sudbury at 7:07 PM.

• The big prospect news for the Blackhawks on Monday was center Sacha Boisvert entering the transfer portal. As I noted when the news officially broke, there are a number of universities with whom the Blackhawks have had multiple prospects in recent years. One of those, Boston University, has been linked to Boisvert a few times.

#Blackhawks Prospect Sacha Boisvert Enters the Transfer Portal https://t.co/ItyHuXW9OG

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 31, 2025

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written by

Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of three books about the Blackhawks: "The Future: Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks' New Era,"(Triumph Books),"100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab