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Jaden Schwartz

Jaden Schwartz Receives Max Fine For Cross-Checking

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Cross-checking is apparently the flavor of the week for the NHL Department of Player Safety. After handing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot a maximum fine for cross-checking on Monday, they have assigned the same punishment to St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz, per an announcement. Schwartz will be out $5,000 as a result of his actions, the most he could be fined under the CBA.

The hit in question was on Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton in last night’s game between the two teams, a convincing 5-2 Hurricanes win. Late in the first period, Hamilton delivered a hard, but legal check on Schwartz along the boards and Schwartz decided to retaliate with a cross-check up high on Hamilton. The decision cost Schwartz a two-minute minor right away, but has cost him even more in retrospect. It’s another knock against Schwartz in a disappointing season for the 26-year-old winger. Schwartz has just 28 points through 58 games and it could be that his offensive frustration is beginning to boil over into his checking game.

Player Safety might not be done dolling out discipline today. They have also announced that New Jersey Devils forward Kurtis Gabriel will have a hearing this afternoon in regards to a boarding penalty against the Philadelphia Flyers’ Nolan Patrick last night. So too will Winnipeg Jets forward Adam Lowry for what’s being called “high-sticking/slashing” on Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg. With the Devils set to face the Boston Bruins tonight, the department will likely act swiftly in their punishment of Gabriel following his hearing, while they can take more time with the Lowry decision as the Jets are off today.

Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we continue with the Central Division, here is a look at the St. Louis Blues.

Alex Pietrangelo? Vladimir Tarasenko? Colton Parayko? Sorry, but they aren’t going anywhere. The St. Louis Blues have quietly climbed within three points of a playoff spot and the early-season panic is over. Granted, the team is still in the middle of a cluster of teams fighting for just a few postseason berths, but the Blues have games in hand on the whole bunch and have been playing some of their best hockey lately. St. Louis is now a legitimate threat to slip into the playoffs and, once there, could do some damage. In fact, the potential on paper of this team is yet another reason why a fire sale is unlikely. There is no excuse for their first half failures, but many, including their own GM Doug Armstrong, have expressed optimism about what this core can do next season. They may have considered tearing it all down at one point, but that’s no longer a realistic possibility.

With that said, the Blues have fallen short of expectations all year long and no one would be surprised if they do in fact miss the playoffs this year. As such, they need to hedge their bets and continue to take offers as a seller. The team has a handful of impending unrestricted free agents they can trade, as well as others that they may entertain moving. The bulk of the St. Louis lineup isn’t going anywhere and will continue their playoff push, but Armstrong and company are likely to move out some extraneous pieces and play both sides of the market as the trade deadline approaches.

Record

22-22-5, sixth in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$7.2MM of full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
2020: STL 1st*, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 7th
* – Blues owe their 2019 first-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade, but have option to keep that pick if it is top-ten and send 2020 first-round pick instead

Trade Chips

Brayden Schenn is a name that just won’t go away. Even as the Blues’ play has improved of late, Schenn’s name continues to bounce around the rumor mill. The 27-year-old center broke out for 70 points last season, but is back to his regular 50-point pace, if that, this year and has been an underwhelming presence this season for an underachieving team. Logic would dictate that if the Blues want to keep their core intact for another try next season, they’ll refrain from moving Schenn. However, if the market interest forces his hand, Armstrong will move the talented forward, who has one year remaining on his contract, for the right price.

The same goes for winger Jaden Schwartz. Once the epitome of consistency and clutch in the Blues’ lineup, Schwartz, 27, has been streaky and largely ineffective on offense this season. His 21 points thus far is one of the biggest disappointments of St. Louis’ season. Schwartz has quietly continued to be a solid two-way force for the Blues though, even if it doesn’t show up on the score sheet. Schwartz has shown immense talent previously and his trade value is at an all-time low. Maybe he does just need a change of scenery, but Armstrong is unlikely to sell low on the two-way forward this season.

Not every trade decision will be as difficult as Schenn and Schwartz. For example, veteran forward Patrick Maroon has been an utter failure this year for St. Louis and is all but gone before the deadline. Earlier this month, it was rumored that Maroon was likely to be dealt when his full no-trade clause expired at the end of January. In the nine games since the report, Maroon has one lone goal. Hometown product or not, the Blues are likely to move Maroon – who has proven before to be a deadline commodity – for the best offer. Veteran grinders Jordan Nolan and, to a lesser extent, Chris Thorburn could also have value on the market and their absences would mean little to the Blues.

Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson have not struggled like Maroon, but are also likely goners as impending UFA’s. Bouwmeester, 35, is a respected veteran around the league but has undoubtedly slowed down over the past couple of seasons. He’s currently fourth among St. Louis defenders in time on ice and has the worst plus/minus of the group. Bouwmeester isn’t going to be extended by the Blues, but he’s also still a serviceable and experienced blue liner who could help a true contender. He’s worth more elsewhere than he is for this fringe St. Louis team. The same goes for depth defender Gunnarsson, who has actually been a quite effective possession defenseman in limited opportunity this year, but has a higher value as an added option to a contender than to a team that may not make the playoffs. Jakub Jerabek and Chris Butler are also impending UFA defensemen who may have some slight value on the market. Don’t be surprised if 25-year-old Jordan Schmaltz has his name thrown around too; the Blues have made no effort to get him NHL minutes and he could use a new opportunity.

One of the major issues of this St. Louis team is underachieving forwards and it’s not just the veterans. Sure, the Blues might like to move Alex Steen or Tyler Bozak, but no-trade clauses alone will limit that possibility. The team would be far more likely to find takers for some of their disappointing young forwards, of which there are many. Robby Fabbri, Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev, Nikita Soshnikov, and Sammy Blais are all getting too old to be called prospects, but have yet to prove themselves as difference-makers in the NHL. Each one is an impending restricted free agent this summer and the Blues likely don’t plan to bring the whole group back. St. Louis could benefit from swapping out a young forward or two of their own for other teams’ disappointing forwards in hopes that a new system can turn their game around.

Five Players To Watch For: F Brayden Schenn, F Patrick Maroon, D Jay Bouwmeester, D Carl Gunnarsson, F Sammy Blais

Team Needs

1) Scoring Depth: Obviously, goaltending is the biggest long-term concern of the Blues, but that isn’t going to be addressed at the deadline this year. Next in line then is scoring. As previously mentioned multiple times, one of the fatal flaws of the Blues this season has been a lack of scoring and disappointing efforts from too many regular forwards. St. Louis is 22nd in goals for this season and, even if the veteran core returns to form this season, the fringe pieces lack some upside in the production department. As the team moves out forwards from the roster, old or young, the Blues could benefit from taking a waiver on other teams’ frustrated young forwards to test this season for whether there is a there is a fit moving forward. The Washington Capitals’ Andre Burakovsky, the Vancouver Canucks’ Nikolay Goldobin, or the Montreal Canadiens’ Charles Hudon could all be intriguing options. Finding another name to add to the blossoming next wave of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Klim Kostin, and Dominik Bokk should be a priority.

2) Top Prospect Defenseman: In the course of making possible trades of Schenn or Bouwmeester or a young forward, Armstrong would be smart to target a top young defender in the return. The Blues have some nice 25-and-under pieces on the NHL blue line right now, but the AHL unit lacks much upside and the organization does not really have a blue chip defenseman in the pipeline other than collegiate rearguard Scott Perunovich, who will already be 21 next season when he begins his junior year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. St. Louis has many exciting, talented forwards waiting to take over a role in the NHL; the team desperately needs to add a defenseman into that group. If they can’t find one via trade, they should focus on the draft and adding picks to make up for their first- and fourth-rounders this year.

Central Notes: Simmonds, Delia, Schwartz

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Despite a recent report that the Winnipeg Jets might be one of the many suitors for power forward Wayne Simmonds at the trade deadline, that may not be the case, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Weibe.

While the scribe writes that it makes perfect sense that the Nashville Predators and the Jets, the two top teams in the Central Division, would be interested in the 6-foot-2 winger who can score. However, with two impressive lines already, the team might be paying quite a bit to bring in a player for their third line, considering the team likely wouldn’t have enough money to sign him during the offseason anyway.

Wiebe adds that the team is more likely to either add a left-handed defenseman to add to their injury-depleted blueline or bring in a center for their second line, much like the team did a year ago when they went out and traded for Paul Stastny. That trade deadline acquisition was quite successful as Stastny gelled immediately with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, posting six goals and 17 points in the playoffs last season as they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to Vegas.

  • Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Chicago Blackhawks may have found their goaltender of the future in Collin Delia. The 24-year-old has been impressive since being called up to fill in for the injured Corey Crawford. While six games is a small sample size, Delia has been tested often by opposing team as he’s faced 245 shots on goal, yet has posted an admirable .939 save percentage and helped the Blackhawks to 10 of a possible 12 points in the standings when he’s in net. With Crawford’s long-term status in Chicago a question mark, the team has some hope that they already have his replacement ready to go.
  • The Athletic’s Evan Sporer (subscription required) writes that while the 2017-18 season suggested the St. Louis Blues’ winger Jaden Schwartz was as consistent a player as the team had, it has been the total opposite this season. Schwartz has just one goal in the last 17 games and has had trouble putting the puck in the net on a struggling Blues team as he has just three goals and 17 points in 29 games this season. Sporer digs deeper, noting that Schwartz is taking shots as he is taking shots at a career-high level this season and is on target to 180 shots in 69 games. Despite that, Schwartz has been getting very similar looks from last year, but just hasn’t been able to put it in this season with the scribe suggesting that his goal totals could start increasing soon.

Snapshots: Blues, Formenton, Predators

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When things aren’t going well for an NHL franchise with big expectations, you can almost see the vultures—that is, other general managers—circling. That’s what appears to be happening in St. Louis, where the Blues find themselves constantly in the rumor mill these days. After another mention yesterday of the potential availability of Alex Pietrangelo (who underwent hand surgery today but didn’t see his recovery timeline change) the latest news comes as a little reprieve for Blues fans who don’t want to see their team blown up.

On NBCSN, hockey insider Darren Dreger explained that he doesn’t believe the Blues will move a big chunk of their young core though will listen on “just about anything else.” Dreger only mentions Jaden Schwartz as part of that core, and doesn’t address directly the rumors around Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko. There’s still plenty to like about the St. Louis depth chart, especially given the young group of forwards including Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Ivan Barbashev, Klim Kostin and Sammy Blais who all look like they will contribute in the NHL for a long time. If a big move does come, it won’t necessarily set the Blues back very far.

  • Alex Formenton suffered an injury in yesterday’s exhibition game at the World Junior selection camp, and today was seen by TSN’s Bob McKenzie on crutches and wearing a knee brace. The team told McKenzie that it was just precautionary, but Formenton’s inclusion on the tournament roster is obviously in jeopardy. The Ottawa Senators prospect was expected to play a huge role and use his speed and experience to give Canada an edge against an excellent international field, but will have to show he’s healthy enough to compete before the team sends home his potential replacements.
  • While Kyle Turris is expected to return for the Nashville Predators tonight, news isn’t nearly as good on his fellow injured forwards. GM David Poile told ESPN radio that Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson will still be out for another three weeks. Nashville lost their top seed in the Western Conference last night after the Calgary Flames came from behind to win against the Philadelphia Flyers, and are in a dog fight with the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division lead. Getting two of their top forwards back would be a huge boost for the club as they search for a little more consistency during the winter months.

Minor Transactions: 12/12/18

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There has already been quite a few moves this morning from teams welcoming back or saying goodbye to key players, but with the NHL heading towards the middle of the season there will be many more. As always we’re here to keep track of all the minor moves:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Dylan Sikura and Carl Dahlstrom from the minor leagues while assigning Alexandre Fortin to the Rockford IceHogs. The team also placed Artem Anisimov on injured reserve while he deals with a concussion. Sikura, a standout at Northeastern University over the last several seasons, is off to a great start in his rookie season in the AHL, scoring 18 points in 26 games.
  • Rourke Chartier is on his way back up to the San Jose Sharks, recalled today from the AHL. The 22-year old forward has played 13 games for the Sharks this season, recording his first NHL goal but failing to register another point. The fifth-round pick has found some early success in the minor leagues, but will have to continue to prove himself if he wants a full-time role in the NHL.
  • Jordan Kyrou has been assigned to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, leaving the St. Louis Blues after a short call-up. Kyrou, a top prospect in the Blues’ system, has yet to prove that he belongs at the highest level despite some prime opportunities. The young forward will continue his development in the AHL for the time being, while St. Louis gets Jaden Schwartz back into the lineup.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have moved Alec Martinez to injured reserve, while recalling Daniel Brickley from the minor leagues. Brickley signed as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State University-Mankato last spring, has just 22 professional games under his belt so far, all but one coming at the minor league level. The 6’3″ defenseman needed an opportunity to show what he could do at the NHL level, and Martinez’ injury may just be that chance.
  • Paul Carey is on his way down to the AHL, as the Ottawa Senators announced that they have reassigned the veteran to Belleville. The free agent addition was only recalled on Sunday and did not see the ice with the Sens. Carey has only five NHL games to his credit this season, all back in October, and no points to show for it either. The two-way forward has been close to a point-per-game player for Belleville in 20 games, but Ottawa seems hesitant to give him much of an opportunity just yet.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets will take another look at veteran forward Zac Dalpe, who they have recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Dalpe has been with the club for more than two years and played in twelve games with Columbus last year, but has only one NHL appearance so far this season. Dalpe has been remarkably productive in Cleveland, with 25 points in 24 games, but has struggled to translate his production to the top level throughout his nine year career. The Blue Jackets will see if he can be more than just a body on this most recent promotion.
  • After adding Chad Johnson on waivers, the Anaheim Ducks have sent goalie Jared Coreau back to the AHL, the team announced. In exchange, they have called up rookie defenseman Josh Mahura from the San Diego Gulls. Mahura has already logged six games with the Ducks in his first pro season and could see more opportunity on this latest recall.

St. Louis Blues Place Three On Injured Reserve

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The St. Louis Blues have been hit with a pile of injuries all at once, and will now be without several key players for the next while. The team announced that Alex Pietrangelo, Robby Fabbri and Carl Gunnarsson have all been placed on injured reserve. Chris Butler, Jordan Kyrou and Jordan Nolan have been recalled to fill in for the injured trio. Pietrangelo in fact has been moved to long-term injured reserve in order to fit in the replacements under the cap. Meanwhile, Alex Steen has been diagnosed with a concussion and is day-to-day, while Jaden Schwartz is also out with a minor injury.

The big two announcements here are Pietrangelo and Fabbri, who won’t even be re-evaluated until around Christmas. The captain has a hand injury and may need surgery, while the oft-injured Fabbri is out with a separated shoulder.

It’s tough news for the Blues of course, but perhaps even tougher for Fabbri specifically after all he’s gone through over the last few years. Once a promising young forward for the Blues poised to be their next big offensive weapon, he suffered multiple major knee injuries and missed the entire 2017-18 season. This year he’s played in just 15 games and recorded four points, a far cry from the pace he was showing during the 2016-17 season as a 20-year old. Still just 22 there is time to turn around his career, but it’s beginning to look like he might be destined for an underwhelming career in St. Louis. Fabbri is on a one-year $925K contract and will be a restricted free agent once again in the offseason.

West Notes: Baertschi, Quick, Kempe, Schwartz

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Canucks winger Sven Baertschi attempted to skate last weekend for the first time since suffering a concussion back in October.  However, he told Marcel Perren of Swiss newspaper Blick that he had to stop after just 15 minutes due to a recurrence of symptoms.  With that in mind, he has been shut down once again and Baertschi indicated to Perren that there’s a chance that he does not return this season.  That would be a significant blow for Vancouver as the 26-year-old is an important part of their attack and was off to a solid start to his campaign with six points in ten games before being concussed.

Elsewhere out West:

  • Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick participated in his first full practice with the team since undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus late last month, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Head coach Willie Desjardins doesn’t want to put a firm timetable on when the netminder may be able to return to the lineup but the belief is he’s about a week away from getting the green light to play.  Meanwhile, center Adrian Kempe is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Vancouver after suffering a lower-body injury on Wednesday.  If he can’t play, Los Angeles will likely have to bring up a forward from AHL Ontario.
  • The Blues announced that they have placed winger Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve. His roster spot went to winger Patrick Maroon who was activated and played tonight against Nashville.  Schwartz last played on November 16th against Vegas so his placement was likely backdated to then which would allow him to be activated at any time.  The 26-year-old is off to a relatively quiet start to his season with just two goals through his first 15 games.

Snapshots: Schwartz, Wilson, Doughty, Scarlett

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The St. Louis Blues were rolling along just fine a year ago, but when winger Jaden Schwartz went down with an injury on Dec. 9th and missed six weeks with a lower-body injury, the team fell apart and had trouble finding its offense even after he came back as they found themselves outside a playoff spot.

Now, the team is in the exact same situation as Schwartz took a puck off the same leg he injured last year from his own teammate, Vladimir Tarasenko. While this injury is not considered to be as serious, the team feels more confident that they can survive without the winger this season with their improved depth, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.

The scribe points out that the team used Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Sobotka in their top-six after last year’s Schwartz injury and the team’s third line featured Ivan Barbashev, Magnus Paajarvi and Patrik Berglund, which wasn’t a very deep team. Four of those players aren’t even with the team anymore.

This year, the team moves Sammy Blais into the top-six and still boast several key players on the third line, including Jordan Kyrou, Alex Steen and Tyler Bozak and that’s not including 19-year-old Robert Thomas. With the depth much deeper, the Schwartz injury shouldn’t have as significant effect as it did a year ago.

  • Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson, currently sitting out 20 games for a preseason hit against St. Louis Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist pending appeal, was asked Sunday whether he intends to change the way he plays. “Yeah, for sure,” Wilson told The Athletic’s Chris Kuk. “The hitting aspect of the game is definitely changing a little bit and I have to be smart out there and I have to play within the rules.”
  • Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty took much of the blame as he said he “failed” in making a difference during the team’s 5-1 embarrassing loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday as well as their 2-2-1 start. However, Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen writes that Doughty has hardly failed the team as no goals have been scored when Doughty has been on the ice this season and had a plus-1 rating in their loss to the Senators.
  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, announced that defenseman Reece Scarlett will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. The 25-year-old had a strong camp with Dallas and was expected to have a big season with the Texas Stars.

Injury Notes: Schwartz, DeKeyser, Luongo, Eriksson Ek, Engelland

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The St. Louis Blues will be without Jaden Schwartz for a few more days as Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, writes that the winger will be out Saturday vs. Chicago due to a lower-body injury when he took a shot off his foot/leg last Saturday vs. Calgary. Head coach Mike Yeo also doubts he will be available for Sunday’s game against Anaheim.

“He’s out for tonight, looking like he’s doubtful to questionable for tomorrow,” Yeo said. “I don’t know that there’s gonna be a big improvement there (overnight). But certainly the report that we got, there’s nothing to be concerned about long-term here.”

The only positive about being without Schwartz is it will give Yeo more of an opportunity to offer more minutes to their three top prospects with Sammy Blais likely getting the bulk of Schwartz’ minutes, including power play time. However, Yeo also said he intends to mix up lines as well against Chicago to get more playing time for both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

  • The Detroit Red Wings’ defense continues to fall more and more apart as Danny DeKeyser exited Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury and is not expected to return, leaving the team with just five defensemen, according to Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. While there is no word on the severity of DeKeyser’s injury, MLive’s Ansar Khan updates other defensive injuries, including that Dennis Cholowski is possible for their game Monday against Montreal, while Jonathan Ericsson is doubtful for Monday. Meanwhile, Trevor Daley is out Monday.
  • George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo for the first time since the goaltender suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener. The veteran netminder said that he expects to be out for the back end of the 2-4 weeks that he was listed out for as he hasn’t begun to skate yet. “I’m still trying to get comfortable walking,” Luongo said. “I’m working hard to be back as soon as I can. I have done enough sitting around the past couple of years. I want to be on the ice with the boys.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo writes that the Minnesota Wild will be without center Joel Eriksson Ek for at least a week as he suffered an upper-body injury recently. The 21-year-old has been critical for the team’s third line even though he still hasn’t registered a point in three games. The team intends to move center Eric Fehr onto the third line, but general manager Paul Fenton and head coach Bruce Boudreau will both speak after today’s game in regards to a potential callup.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have listed defenseman Deryk Engelland as day-to-day after he was forced to leave in the second period of Saturday’s game against Philadelphia, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. He’ll be re-evaluated when the team returns to Las Vegas. The 36-year-old has made a name for himself with a career-year last year, who has made Las Vegas his home since he played for the ECHL Las Vegas Wranglers back in the 2004-05 season.

Snapshots: Goldobin, Schwartz, Jonsson-Fjallby, Martinsen

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It was the performance of winger Nikolay Goldobin at training camp that ultimately led to Sam Gagner’s surprise placement on waivers, GM Jim Benning told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.  The 23-year-old Russian is now waiver-eligible and the team also didn’t want to risk losing him for free on the waiver wire where there was a good chance he’d have been claimed.  However, the Canucks now have to pay Gagner $3.5MM in salary this season to play at the minor league level, something that owner Francesco Aquilini acknowledged that he wasn’t particularly pleased about.  It’s not even Vancouver’s farm team that will benefit from Gagner’s services as he was loaned to Toronto’s AHL squad instead.  Meanwhile, Goldobin is rewarding Vancouver’s faith him with a strong showing to start the season as he has three points through the first four games so while the decision was an expensive one for ownership, it looks like the right one so far.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Blues may be without winger Jaden Schwartz on Saturday night. The team announced that he is dealing with a lower-body issue and head coach Mike Yeo has classified him as “questionable to doubtful” for their upcoming game against Chicago.  The injury was sustained on Thursday night when he blocked a shot in the first period.  He did, however, remain in the game.  Even if he is out tomorrow, Yeo acknowledged that Schwartz won’t be out long-term.
  • Despite a Swedish report that Capitals prospect Axel Jonsson-Fjallby intends to exercise the European Assignment Clause in his contract, a team spokesman told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that the winger has no plans to return to Sweden at this time. The 20-year-old is in his first season in North America after playing with Djurgarden of the SHL last year and while there would certainly be a temptation to play at home, it likely wouldn’t bode too well for his NHL chances.  He has suited up in a pair of games so far this season for Hershey of the AHL.
  • Blackhawks winger Andreas Martinsen is dealing with a back injury, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. The 28-year-old was a bit of a surprise inclusion on Chicago’s roster to start the season after spending most of last year in the minors although he has had a limited role in the early going this season, logging just under seven minutes per contests in a pair of games.

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