Blackhawks Place Corey Perry On Waivers, Intend To Terminate Contract
The Chicago Blackhawks have placed veteran forward Corey Perry on waivers for the purposes of contract termination. He was 16 games into his first year with the club, scoring four goals and nine points. Perry was previously announced as being away from the team for the “foreseeable future”.
Perry has been missing from team activities since the Wednesday before American Thanksgiving after he was a surprising healthy-scratch as the result of an “organizational decision”. He missed the team’s proceeding Thursday practice and the team shared that they’ve decided Perry should take time away soon after.
Perry joined the Hawks via trade in June, with Chicago sending a seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the veteran. Chicago then inked Perry to a one-year, $4MM contract extension that set him up for a prominent role with the 2023-24 Blackhawks lineup. Chicago even rewarded Perry with an alternate captain role. He served as one of four alternate captains for the Hawks, who have yet to name a successor to the captaincy that Jonathan Toews held since 2008.
Perry, 38, is nearing the end of an electric hockey career that saw him win the Stanley Cup and win Gold at the World Cup, World Juniors, Hlinka Gretzky Cup, World Championship, twice at the Olympics, and plenty more. He’s one of only a handful of hockey players in the coveted Triple Gold club, which comprises players who have won Gold at the Olympics and World Championship, and won a Stanley Cup. Perry’s dazzling career has amounted to 1,273 NHL games and 892 career points. He added 124 points in 196 career playoff games.
It is unknown whether Perry’s contract termination is mutual, although the Blackhawks have claimed that Perry violated his standard player contract, which would provide grounds for termination even if Perry does not agree.
Kevin Korchinski Unlikely To Play In 2024 WJC
Chicago Blackhawks rookie Kevin Korchinski won an IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal for Canada last season, but is unlikely to get another chance at glory at this year’s edition of the tournament. As relayed by NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says his “inclination would be for [Korchinski] to stay” in Chicago, rather than go to the tournament which begins in exactly one month and is set to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Korchinski has, according to Davidson, “been playing really well,” making his fair share of mistakes as well as excellent plays. The former WHL star is currently scoring at a nine-goal, 27-point 82-game pace, although there is hope that those numbers will see an uptick as Korchinski gets more game experience under his belt in the world’s top league. Currently averaging 19:32 time on ice per game, which ranks third on the entire Blackhawks team, Korchinski is believed by many to be a potential top-pairing defenseman for a future contender in Chicago.
Corey Perry To Be Away From Blackhawks For Foreseeable Future
There have been plenty of questions when it comes to Corey Perry’s situation in Chicago. He has missed the last two games due to what head coach Luke Richardson termed an organizational decision although he declined to provide more information than that. Today, GM Kyle Davidson met with reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago and said that the veteran would be away from the team for the foreseeable future.
While Davidson failed to provide more specifics than that regarding the nature of Perry’s absence, the GM reiterated that this is a team decision, not Perry’s to be away from the team. When pressed about possible reasons by reporters, he stated that it would be irresponsible to rule anything out so he wouldn’t comment on any scenarios.
However, following the press conference, Perry’s agent Pat Morris of Newport released the following statement to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link):
Corey Perry has stepped away from the Chicago Blackhawks to attend to personal matters. Corey and his family appreciate privacy at this time.
Chicago acquired Perry’s negotiating rights back at the draft from Tampa Bay and quickly signed him to a one-year, $4MM deal. While that’s not a typical move for a rebuilding team to make, the Blackhawks clearly identified that they wanted some quality veterans on a young roster, one that added Connor Bedard with the top pick back in June.
While Perry has been more of a supporting cast type of player in recent years with Tampa Bay and Montreal, the 38-year-old has logged a little under 15 minutes a night so far this season and has been relatively productive, collecting four goals and five assists in his first 16 games. With nine points, he sits fourth on the team in scoring.
With the team already missing Taylor Hall – whose ACL surgery is set for Monday – and Perry, that’s a decent chunk of their scoring depth on a team that’s the third-lowest-scoring group in the league. However, Davidson indicated that going and adding a replacement is not something he is looking into right now, suggesting that there are other teams that are far more aggressive in trying to add to their rosters at the moment. At this point, getting into any sort of bidding war for one of those players wouldn’t make sense for the Blackhawks who are still clearly in a rebuilding situation but now will be without another key veteran in Perry for a while yet at least.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Corey Perry Will Not Play Today
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that head coach Rick Bowness has returned to the team after taking a leave of absence to be with his wife following a medical emergency. Bowness left the team a month ago and associate coach Scott Arniel served as interim head coach while Bowness was with his family.
Bowness will officially re-join the team and serve as head coach today when the Jets take on the Florida Panthers. Winnipeg surprisingly sits in third place in the Central Division with an 11-5-2 record, they trail division leaders the Dallas Stars by just two points.
Bowness met up with the Jets in Sunrise, Florida today and the team posted a video of the 68-year-old circling the clubs dressing room and greeting the players. The Jets rallied after a slow start to the season and managed to go 9-2-2 in Bowness’s absence. With their head coach now back in the fold, the Jets appear poised to go on a run as one of the feel-good stories in the early part of the NHL season.
In other afternoon notes:
- Tampa Bay Times writer Eduardo A. Encina is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy will make his season debut today when the team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes. Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate today signalling that he will make his return from back surgery. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner has yet to dress this season and should provide a jolt to a team that has been treading water early in the year. Tampa Bay is 9-6-5 which is good enough for third in the Atlantic Division and impressive for a team that had to play a quarter of the season without one of the best goaltenders in the world.
- Chicago Sun-Times writer Ben Pope tweeted today that Chicago Blackhawks forward Corey Perry will not play again today and that no further updates have been given. Perry missed practice after being a healthy scratch on Wednesday for what was deemed an ‘organizational decision.’ It appears he will remain a healthy scratch for the time being as the Blackhawks take on the Toronto Maple Leafs this afternoon. Perry has four goals and five assists in 16 games this season and has registered a -6.
Snapshots: Oilers, Corey Perry, Penguins Injuries
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug recently provided an inside look at the Edmonton Oilers’ trade market, reporting that the team is willing to move any prospects, roster players, or draft picks – the only untouchables are their first-round pick, Leon Draisaitl, and Connor McDavid. Rishaug adds that other teams are undoubtedly aware of Edmonton’s dire situation, giving them a disadvantage in trade negotiations.
It’s no surprise to hear that Edmonton is open to dealing anything if it means an improvement to what they have right now. The Oilers are currently on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes. They are 2-3-0 under new head coach Kris Knoblauch, who took over on November 12th after Jay Woodcroft led the team to a 3-9-1 start.
This is despite the team boasting six different players with 14 or more points through their first 18 games, including three players scoring at a point-per-game pace or better. But they’re also icing four forwards with three or fewer points, including Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, who have both failed to appear on the scoresheet. The scoring inconsistency is coupled with abysmal goaltending. All three goaltenders that Edmonton has iced this year carry a save percentage below .900, with current starter Stuart Skinner boasting a .865 through 13 games.
Goaltending and depth scoring will be new major pieces to address as Edmonton gears up for trades.
Other notes from around the league:
- Corey Perry is mysteriously missing from the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday practice, after serving as a surprise healthy scratch on Wednesday for, “organizational decisions”, as put by The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. Fellow alternate captain, Nick Foligno, told Lazerus that the players aren’t sure what the situation is, and head coach Luke Richardson declined to comment further. Perry has nine points in his first 16 games with the Blackhawks organization, joining via trade this summer.
- Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan shared that all of the team’s injured players are progressing as expected, and that top winger Bryan Rust is still considered day-to-day. Pittsburgh has been battered and bruised this year, currently facing injuries to Rust, Rickard Rakell, Chad Ruhwedel, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and Will Butcher.
Taylor Hall Out For The Season Due To Knee Surgery
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that forward Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season, as he will undergo surgery on his right knee. The Blackhawks have also announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forwards Cole Guttman and Joey Anderson from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
Hall, who is under contract for another season at a $6MM cap hit, has not played since the team’s November 19th loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Hall’s knee injury likely comes from an ugly collision on the boards that he had with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mikey Eyssimont. He left the ice immediately after favoring one leg, and although there is no official confirmation it appears that the collision and the injury it caused is what has ended Hall’s season.
Although it is certain now that Hall will not return to the ice for Chicago this season, his absence is far from assured for next season.
With another year left on his contract, Hall still has a future with the Blackhawks and could very well return to game action with the team next season.
But even though Chicago does not figure to be a playoff contender this season, this loss is still a major one for the Blackhawks and a significant setback for Hall.
From Hall’s perspective, this injury costs him a year he would have likely spent as one of his team’s most heavily used forwards. After a few years spent playing a more secondary role on the Boston Bruins, Hall was poised to be a true offensive centerpiece of this Blackhawks team next to rookie sensation Connor Bedard.
Hall is now quite a bit removed from his Hart Trophy-winning 93-point campaign, so this year represented what may have been his best chance since he was on the Devils at posting high point totals.
He hadn’t posted elite numbers so far in his short time with Chicago, scoring four points in 10 games, but there was hope that with injury issues behind him and some more time to build chemistry with players such as Bedard, the points would follow.
Now, Hall won’t get that chance for the rest of the season, and it’s fair to question how ready he’ll be to hit the ground running whenever he’s fully healed due to the fact that he’ll have gone quite a few months without playing.
In addition to being a major setback for Hall, this injury is unfortunate news for the Blackhawks as well. The team acquired Hall with the hopes that he’d serve as a key asset to Bedard, the kind of veteran player who was once a highly-touted top prospect and could help guide Bedard as the 2023 top pick navigates the trials and tribulations of his rookie year.
While Hall will still be able to be around the team off the ice, the on-ice component of the Bedard-Hall connection has now been at least temporarily severed.
Although Guttman and Anderson would undoubtedly prefer to be recalled under different circumstances, the injuries that hit Athanasiou and Hall provide them with a valuable opportunity at the NHL level.
Guttman, 24, began the season with the Blackhawks but was quickly sent down after consecutive losses. He’s since scored nine points in 12 AHL games, and this recall will give him another chance to translate his impressive NCAA and AHL scoring numbers to the NHL.
Anderson, 25, has not had the chance to play in the NHL this season. The former University of Minnesota-Duluth forward got into 24 NHL games last season but only managed six points. He’s been the IceHogs’ top scorer so far this year with 16 points in 14 games, and now this recall will give him the chance to take a meaningful step forward at the NHL level that he so far has been unable to do on a consistent basis.
But while these injuries provide opportunities to players on the NHL-AHL bubble, all parties involved (including those players) would likely prefer if Hall and Athanasiou were healthy. That’s unfortunately not the case right now, and the Blackhawks will have to move forward with two key scoring options out of commission.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Blackhawks Activate Nikita Zaitsev, Send Filip Roos To AHL
The Chicago Blackhawks have activated Nikita Zaitsev from the non-roster status and reassigned Filip Roos to the AHL. Zaitsev has been out of action since Thursday, stepping away from the team for personal reasons. He missed two games in that span. The rookie defenseman Roos was a healthy scratch for both games, serving as the team’s seventh defenseman.
Zaitsev has only appeared in five games this season, serving as a healthy scratch for the other eight games that he was active for. He’s scored a lone goal in those appearances, adding two penalty minutes and a +4. It’s Zaitsev’s first full season in Chicago, after joining the Hawks via trade last February. He had previously spent four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, appearing in 203 games, scoring 45 points, and recording a -33 with the club. The 32-year-old defenseman originally moved to the NHL in 2016, when he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had previously played in 317 games in the KHL, Russia’s top league, including 136 games with CSKA Moscow. Zaitsev scored 36 points in his rookie season, a mark that remains his career-high.
The Hawks will likely bump Zaitsev right back into the lineup, as their third pairing is currently comprised of two left-shot rookie defenders in Isaak Phillips and Wyatt Kaiser. The duo were two of four rookies on the Hawks’ blue line this weekend, alongside Kevin Korchinski and extra-man Filip Roos. The team also iced the 22-year-old Alex Vlasic, giving their defense an average age of 23.8 over their last two games. Zaitsev will bring some veteran experience back into the fold for the team’s Sunday night matchup against the Buffalo Sabres.
Taylor Hall Game-Time Decision For Saturday
- Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall is listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Nashville, relays Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). It has been an injury-riddled first season in Chicago for the 32-year-old who has had shoulder trouble sideline him twice while this most recent undisclosed injury has cost him a little over a week so far. When he has been healthy, Hall has tallied two goals and two assists in eight games.
Blackhawks Announce Several Injury Updates
The Chicago Blackhawks have shared that Nikita Zaitsev will be away from the team until early next week, at the earliest, as he’s taking time away for personal reasons. The team also placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with an oblique injury. He and forward Andreas Athanasiou, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, are both considered week-to-week.
The Hawks have recalled Filip Roos to the NHL lineup in response to Zaitsev’s absence. Chicago is also without Taylor Hall, who has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury and returned to practice on Wednesday.
The quartet of Tinordi, Athanasiou, Zaitsev, and Hall have served as go-to lineup pieces for Chicago early on, with each player appearing in five or more games. Hall has played the most prominent role, averaging a little over 16 minutes of ice time and four points through eight games. Tinnordi and Zaitsev have operated as bottom-pairing defenders, with each player averaging roughly 14 minutes of ice time and scoring one point. Athanasiou has averaged the least ice time of the group, playing just under 13 minutes of ice time through 11 games and scoring four points. This is despite Athanasiou playing with the team’s middle-six in the games he’s appeared in, with half of his ice time being played alongside rookie Lukas Reichel.
Despite the long list of injuries, recalled defenseman Filip Roos is expected to slot in as the team’s seventh defenseman – playing behind AHL teammates Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips. He is the team’s only healthy extra player for Chicago’s Thursday night game against Tampa Bay, as Hall is expected to sit out of the match.
Chicago Blackhawks Recall Filip Roos
The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled defenseman Filip Roos from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. In a corresponding move, the Blackhawks placed veteran Nikita Zaitsev on the team non-roster list, as he is currently out due to personal reasons.
Roos, 24, is an undrafted Swedish blueliner who signed with the Blackhawks out of Skellefteå AIK and the SHL in the summer of 2022. In his first season in North America, Roos split time between the AHL and NHL, skating in 17 games for the Blackhawks and 39 for the IceHogs.
So far this season, Roos has played in 10 games in Rockford, scoring four points. With Zaitsev away, Roos will compete with Isaak Phillips for the team’s now-open lineup spot.
The slot in head coach Luke Richardson’s lineup that has been vacated by Zaitsev is on the team’s third pairing, alongside 21-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth product Wyatt Kaiser.