CHICAGO (AP) — Nick Foligno took on a leadership role for the Chicago Blackhawks before he played his first game for the team.
That was only the beginning.
Foligno became the 35th captain in franchise history on Wednesday. The move was announced by the organization on the eve of its first official practice of training camp.
“I don't take this lightly,” Foligno said when he addressed the team after his three children presented him with his new jersey — with a C on the front. "I'm excited about where we're heading. I love the group already.
“And I know what's come before us, you know, the leadership group that was here before us, the success that's been here. And I'm excited to get us back to that, with your help.”
The Blackhawks played without a captain last season after the franchise decided to move on from Jonathan Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup winner. Toews had been the captain since 2008.
Foligno, who turns 37 on Oct. 31, quickly became one of the team's most popular players after he was acquired in a June 2023 trade with Boston. He was one of Chicago's alternate captains in his first year with the team.
The role of captain — especially with Connor Bedard still just 19 and beginning his second season in the NHL — seemed like a natural fit for Foligno all along.
“Nick’s commanding presence in the locker room has been instrumental in helping the team find its identity," general manager Kyle Davidson said in the release announcing the move. "He has served as a mentor to many of our young players both on and off the ice while also heading up the leadership group comprised of our veteran players, and we are beyond confident that he will flourish in the role of captain as we usher in a new era of Blackhawks hockey.”
Chicago finished last in the Central Division last season with a 23-53-6 record. But it was active in free agency and it is hoping to turn a corner with its rebuilding project this year.
Foligno had 17 goals and 20 assists in 74 games in his first season with the team. He agreed to a two-year contract in January that runs through the 2025-26 season.
Foligno was selected by Ottawa in the first round of the 2006 draft. His father, Mike, played in the NHL for 15 years, and his brother, Marcus, plays for Minnesota.
Nick Foligno has 232 goals and 330 assists in 1,155 games over 17 NHL seasons, also playing for Ottawa, Columbus, Boston and Toronto. He also was the captain of the Blue Jackets for six seasons from 2015-21.
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FILE - Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno reacts after a penalty is called on him during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is roaring toward records as a delayed reaction of jubilation sweeps markets worldwide following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher in early trading Thursday and above its all-time closing high set in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 527 points, or 1.3%, and on track to top its record set on Monday. The Nasdaq composite was 2.3% higher. Stocks of smaller companies led the market, as did other businesses that can feel the most relief from lower interest rates. Markets in Europe and Asia also rallied.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Markets on Wall Street were positioned to open at record highs Thursday after the Federal Reserve issued a bigger-than-usual interest rate cut intended to fortify a cooling labor market and prevent a recession.
Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 1.7% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.2%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq shot more than 2% higher.
Thursday's premarket gains came after investors largely shrugged off the Fed's half-point rate cut a day earlier. Because the Fed’s first cut to interest rates in four years was so well telegraphed, markets had already risen in anticipation of it.
It was the first cut to the federal funds rate since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. in March of 2020, ending a stretch where the country's central bank kept rates at a two-decade high to slow the economy enough to stifle the worst inflation in generations.
The Fed’s move may help financial markets both by easing the brakes on the economy, which has been slowing under the weight of higher rates and by boosting prices for all kinds of investments. Besides stocks, gold and bond prices had already rallied in recent months on expectations that rate cuts were coming.
Now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago and appears to be heading toward 2%, the Fed says it it can turn more of its attention toward protecting the slowing job market and overall economy.
“The time to support the labor market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference Wednesday. “That’s the situation we’re in.”
Darden Restaurants climbed 7.5% in premarket, even as the owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse posted first-quarter sales and profit that fell short of expectations. Investors may have been encouraged that Darden reiterated its previous guidance, saying sales trends were on an upward trajectory since a July swoon dragged down its most recent results.
Trading in Tupperware Brands remained halted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock has been sinking, down to 51 cents, since a mini-revival early in the pandemic sent its stock above $30.
Package deliverer FedEx and homebuilder Lennar report their latest results after the bell Thursday.
In Europe, Germany's DAX added 0.8% by midday and the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 1.3%.
In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.9% after the Bank of England left its interest rate untouched at 5% as expected.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.1% to 37,155.33, lifted by major export manufacturers' shares. Toyota Motor Corp. surged 5.1%, Sony Group Corp. added 2.9% and Hitachi Ltd. climbed 5.8%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2% to 18,013.16.
The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7% to 2,736.02, while Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.7% higher.
South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,580.80.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also holding monetary policy meetings this week. Neither central bank is expected to move on rates, though the language of what the officials say could be an indicator of later moves and still influence markets.
In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 70 cents to $70.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, was up 65 cents at $74.30 per barrel.
The dollar rose to 142.93 Japanese yen from 142.29 yen. The euro rose to $1.1158 from $1.1120.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Dow dipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%.
Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The news conference of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears on television screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Specialist Genaro Saporito, foreground, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The news conference of Federal' Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears on a screen as trader Neil Catania works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
