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Blackhawks Reassign Wyatt Kaiser

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The Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Wyatt Kaiser to AHL Rockford, Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports reports Monday. This leaves the Blackhawks with only six healthy defenders, suggesting Connor Murphy may be ready to come off injured reserve before Wednesday’s game against the Blues.

Kaiser, 21, has looked promising when given NHL minutes this season. He’s goalless through 32 games but has seven assists, 46 blocks, and only slightly below-average possession metrics on a badly understaffed Chicago blue line. The Minnesota native has largely been limited to bottom-pairing minutes, averaging 17:19 on the season, but had seen over 20 minutes of ice time in three of his last five outings.

He made the team out of camp but was assigned to Rockford in early December, where he remained for most of the season aside from a brief emergency loan later that month. Chicago brought him back a few weeks ago, playing him in each of their last nine games. The left-shot defender has been decent on the farm, where he has three goals and 15 points in 31 games.

A strong skater and good outlet passer, he’s done enough to put himself in consideration for an opening-night job again this fall. He has one season left on his entry-level contract, which carries a $917K cap hit, and will be an RFA in 2025.

Murphy looks to return after missing the last two and a half months with osteitis pubis, the same inflammatory groin issue that sidelined Sharks captain Logan Couture for all but six games this season. The 31-year-old told NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis last week that being “a part of the solution” has pushed him to close out the season back in the lineup. The veteran shutdown man complemented his eight points in 43 games with some of the team’s better possession numbers prior to exiting the lineup in January, posting a 44.4 CF% and -7.4 expected rating.

Blackhawks Notes: Murphy, Johnson, Veterans

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The Blackhawks have been without blueliner Connor Murphy for nearly three months with an undisclosed lower-body injury.  Speaking with reporters today including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, the veteran indicated he was dealing with an osteitis pubis injury, the same issue that has sidelined San Jose’s Logan Couture for most of the season albeit a less severe case.  Murphy took part in a full practice today and is targeting a return sometime next week.  While there isn’t anything left for Chicago to play for in the standings, getting a few games under his belt before the campaign comes to an end would certainly be worth it for Murphy to confirm that he had indeed fully recovered from this issue.

More from Chicago:

  • Blackhawks forward Reese Johnson suffered a setback as he works his way back from a concussion, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. The 25-year-old has missed nearly four weeks and had been skating at one point but has stopped since then.  At this point, a return in the final two weeks of the season seems unlikely.  Johnson collected two goals and three assists in 42 games with Chicago while adding 109 hits; he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.
  • Heading into the season, many expected Chicago to move veterans Jason Dickinson and Petr Mrazek. As pending unrestricted free agents, the thought was they’d hold down a roster spot and then be moved at the trade deadline for draft picks but both signed two-year extensions instead.  Scott Powers of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that the Blackhawks could use more players like that, short-term veterans that can make a bigger impact than anticipated and then stick around a little longer.  Adding pieces like that would raise the floor of the team when they eventually look to emerge from their long-term rebuild.

Dominic Basse Transfers To St. Lawrence

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  • Blackhawks goalie prospect Dominic Basse has transferred to St. Lawrence, the school announced (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was a sixth-rounder of Chicago in 2019, going 167th overall.  Basse played his first two years at Colorado College before spending the last two at St. Cloud State.  Last season, Basse posted a 2.75 GAA with a .896 SV% in 25 games and with Ben Kraws turning pro and signing with Dallas, he should have a shot at a heavy workload for his final collegiate campaign.

Dominic James To Return To Minnesota-Duluth For Senior Season

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  • Blackhawks forward prospect Dominic James will return to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for his senior season in 2024-25, per Scott Powers of The Athletic. The alternate captain of the Bulldogs had his season end all the way back in October after just two games, recording one assist before undergoing season-ending surgery to address an upper-body injury. Chicago had considered offering him an entry-level contract, per Powers, but a jump to the professional ranks would have been difficult after such a lengthy period away from the ice. James, 21, went undrafted twice before Chicago took a flyer on him in the sixth round of the 2022 draft after a banner freshman season with the Bulldogs. Finishing with six goals and 18 points in 39 games, James helped them capture the NCHC championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was also named to the U.S. national junior team, representing his country at the 2022 World Juniors with an assist in five games.
  • Flames winger Andrew Mangiapane could return tomorrow against the Jets after a three-game absence, head coach Ryan Huska told Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. The 27-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury against the Blackhawks on March 26, causing his third, fourth and fifth absences of the season. It’s been another season of solid middle-six production for the diminutive winger, tied for sixth on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 38 points in 69 games. He’s averaging 16:06 per game, down from last season’s career-high of 16:49.

Blackhawks Sign Nick Lardis To Entry-Level Deal

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The Blackhawks signed left-wing prospect Nick Lardis to a three-year, entry-level contract Wednesday, per a team announcement. The deal carries a cap hit of $897K.

Lardis, 18, was picked up by Chicago last summer, heading to them with the 67th overall pick in the 2023 draft. The Ontario-born winger has been a much-improved talent this season with OHL Brantford, notching 29 goals and 50 points in an injury-plagued campaign that limited him to 37 games.

The speedy sniper is a top-10 talent in a top-10 prospect pool. In The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s 2024 rankings, he was the ninth-ranked prospect in the organization. His skating is his biggest threat, both in terms of his straight-line speed and edgework, but he has quite a capable shot as well. He lacks over-the-top size at 5’11” and 165 lbs, somewhat limiting his appeal on draft day last year, but was a solid value selection at the time. Early returns look very promising. Since beginning his major junior career in 2021, he’s amassed 84 goals and 152 points in 169 games for Peterborough and Brantford/Hamilton.

Lardis will likely return to Brantford next season, as he still needs a bit more development time. Making Chicago’s roster out of camp appears unlikely, and he’s too young for assignment to AHL Rockford per the NHL/CHL transfer agreement. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games next season, his ELC will defer to 2025-26. Given his age, he’s only eligible for a slide once, not twice. In that very likely event, he’d become an RFA upon expiry in 2028.

Colin Blackwell And Nikita Zaitsev Back At Practice

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  • Scott Powers of The Athletic is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks Colin Blackwell and Nikita Zaitsev are back at practice today. The 31-year-old Blackwell has missed the last five games as he’s been dealing with an upper-body injury. The center has eight goals and four assists in 39 games this year. Zaitsev will also be a game-time decision tomorrow and he too has been dealing with an upper-body injury. The veteran defenseman has just two goals and five assists in 36 games this season and hasn’t played since March 28th against the Ottawa Senators.

Jiri Felcman Signs AHL Tryout

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  • The Chicago Blackhawks have signed 2023 third-round draft pick Jiri Felcman to an AHL amateur try-out for the remainder of the season, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Felcman is moving to North American pros after spending much of the season in Switzerland’s U20 league, where he’s managed 23 points in 26 games. The 18-year-old centerman has also scored four points in 13 Swiss League games – Switzerland’s second-tier league – and one assist in five National League games – Switzerland’s top league. His move to North America will void his previous commitment to Langnau of the National League for next season.

Trio Of Injured Blackhawks Skate Before Practice

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Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff tweeted that Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast has re-joined team practice after missing Carolina’s last three games with an apparent upper-body injury. Fast hasn’t played since March 19th and is “nursing something” according to Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind ’Amour.

Fast had struggled leading up to the injury announcement, tallying just a single assist in his last six games. Fast has never been an offensive juggernaut but has been a consistent 30-point producer and has seen a drop off this season in his scoring. Through 66 games, the 32-year-old has just six goals and 12 assists and his shooting percentage has dropped four percent below his career average to just 8.6% on the season.

In other evening notes:

  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic writes that the Columbus Blue Jackets are unlikely to interview director of player development Rick Nash for their vacant general manager position even though he was just named the general manager of Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championships. Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson spoke with The Athletic on Saturday to discuss his search for the team’s next GM after firing Jarmo Kekäläinen. Davidson reiterated that he is looking to hire a person with experience as an NHL GM and that he planned to look outside Nationwide Arena for the next hire. Davidson told The Athletic that he has spoken with Nash and others within the organization to let them know that they will not get an interview for the position as the timing isn’t right for them to move into the role of general manager.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks had a trio of injured players on the ice today as Taylor Hall, Connor Murphy, and Reese Johnson skated before the teams practice. Hall won’t be back into the lineup until next season after undergoing ACL surgery on his right knee in November. While Hall’s timeline is fairly clear, Murphy’s return date is murky at this point as he has not played since January 13th and may not return before the end of the season. Murphy was initially diagnosed with a groin injury, but that was eventually changed to a core injury. Johnson also joined the other veterans after being ruled out due to concussion protocol. The 25-year-old last played on March 12th and sat out the last five games. He has dressed in 42 games this season for Chicago and has two goals and three assists.

Colin Blackwell Out With Upper-Body Injury

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  • Sticking with the Original Six theme, the Chicago Blackhawks have some injury concerns as well, as Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that forward Colin Blackwell is out with an upper-body injury. Without much to play for down the final stretch of the season, it is still unfortunate news for the organization. Over the team’s last five games, Blackwell has been on a solid streak, scoring three goals and four points, with all three of those goals coming in a game against the Arizona Coyotes.

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Blackhawks Recall Wyatt Kaiser

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The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Wyatt Kaiser on an emergency loan Monday, per CapFriendly. It’s the 21-year-old’s first recall since Chicago assigned him to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in late December.

Since his recall comes under emergency conditions, the Blackhawks maintain their two remaining post-trade deadline standard recalls. Kaiser must replace one of Chicago’s six currently healthy defenders, one of whom is likely questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Kings, to remain eligible for an emergency loan. Otherwise, the Blackhawks must convert his recall into a standard one or return him to the IceHogs.

The 2020 third-round pick played in a career-high 23 games in the first few months of the season, recording four assists and a +1 rating. Averaging 16:40 per game, the former University of Minnesota-Duluth standout wasn’t quite the relative shutdown master his positive rating on a rebuilder suggests. Above-average goaltending boosted his actual results, while his even-strength possession numbers (42.7 CF%, 40.3 xGF%) reflected that of a developing talent.

Nonetheless, Kaiser is one of the Blackhawks’ more intriguing defense prospects and may get another shot to log some games after making the Blackhawks’ roster out of camp. Ranked as the 11th-best overall prospect in Chicago’s system and the third-best defenseman by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, he has three goals and 15 points in 31 games for Rockford in his first taste of AHL action this year. Over three seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, he recorded 45 assists, 52 points, and a +5 rating in 97 contests.

Kaiser is in the second season of his three-year entry-level contract, which took effect immediately after signing in March of last year. He carries a cap hit of $917K and will be an RFA in 2025.

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