Blackhawks Notes: Toews, Draft Picks, UFAs, Goalies
Aside from drafting their next franchise center at the end of the month, the biggest storyline in the Chicago Blackhawks’ offseason is what the future holds for his predecessor, captain Jonathan Toews. A return to the Blackhawks has seemed very unlikely for some time, given how the end of the season went. Still, speculation around a return, given the impending entrance of Connor Bedard, has been a topic of discussion.
According to The Athletic’s Scott Powers, Toews is expected to be announced in the coming weeks to announce a decision regarding retirement or a potential move to another team in free agency. Toews, 35, took a leave of absence prior to the 2020-2021 season due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, which, along with some effects of long COVID, caused him to miss a stretch of games near the end of 2022-23 as well.
Should Toews choose to hang up his skates, it would mark the end of a notable career that includes three Stanley Cup championships and numerous accolades but a debatable reputation as a captain stemming from the sexual assault scandal that occurred during the team’s 2010 championship run. After completing his eight-year, $84MM contract extension signed in 2014, Toews will surely generate some interest from teams looking to fill out their middle six if he does decide to try and extend his career.
More from Powers on the Blackhawks this morning:
- In regards to their second first-round pick in the upcoming draft, 19th overall, the Blackhawks have a handful of players they’re hoping will still be available to them – and they’re likely to select a second forward to supplement Bedard. Among the prospects at the scouting combine, forwards Colby Barlow, Oliver Moore, Calum Ritchie, Matthew Wood, and Brayden Yager are potential options for the Blackhawks. Additionally, the team has shown interest in 6-foot-5 Russian forward Daniil But, and general manager Kyle Davidson expressed a lack of hesitancy to Powers around selecting Russian players in this year’s draft. Looking ahead to the team’s four second-round picks, goaltender Adam Gajan, forwards Otto Stenberg and Bradly Nadeau, as well as defensemen Oliver Bonk and Andrew Strathmann are potential considerations for the Blackhawks.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have made their decision regarding pending unrestricted free agents, says Powers, signaling that after re-signing Andreas Athanasiou, the team is unlikely to bring back any of their other UFAs. Players such as Jujhar Khaira and Alex Stalock, among a few others, will explore options elsewhere as the Blackhawks prioritize their roster composition to provide opportunities for younger players and build out some higher-end support for Bedard via free agency.
- Davidson also indicated to Powers that Arvid Soderblöm and Petr Mrazek are expected to form the team’s NHL goaltending tandem for the upcoming season. Speaking about the young goalies, Davidson emphasized Soderblöm’s potential and the development aspect of their decision-making process so as to not rush their other prospects. Soderblöm, who has already spent time as a North American pro (and played pro in Europe), holds an experience advantage over other prospects like Jaxson Stauber and Drew Commesso.
Snapshots: Bear, Stalock, Sanford
The Vancouver Canucks will be without Ethan Bear for the next little while, after he suffered an injury last night. Bear was moved to injured reserve today, with Noah Juulsen recalled in his place.
Vancouver is quickly running out of options for a team that is expected to move at least one defenseman at the deadline. Bear joins eight other players on IR (regular or long-term) for the Canucks, including Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Travis Dermott, and Tucker Poolman.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have activated Alex Stalock from injured reserve, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic. That is encouraging news after he was ruled out with ocular dysfunction from multiple head injuries for a while. His return means Jaxson Stauber is being sent back to the AHL, despite a pretty impressive performance from the rookie netminder. Stauber went 5-1 in six games with a .911 save percentage.
- With Nino Niederreiter gone, the Nashville Predators have recalled Zach Sanford from the minor leagues. The big forward has nine goals and 19 points in 32 games with the Milwaukee Admirals but just two points in eight NHL contests so far this season.
Snapshots: Penguins, Stauber, Avalanche, Duclair
If the Penguins are going to be buyers for next month’s trade deadline, there’s at least one key asset that they’re not willing to move. Speaking with reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, GM Ron Hextall stated that they won’t be willing to move their first-round pick. At this time, Hextall plans to try to add a piece if he can, stating that “If we can do something to make us better this year, I’m looking to do it”. However, with limited space to work with (they have just $1.35MM in LTIR space at the moment per CapFriendly), any move they’re looking to make at this point is probably going to be of the depth variety.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Blackhawks announced that they have recalled goaltender Jaxson Stauber from AHL Rockford. The 23-year-old was sent down over the All-Star break but didn’t see any game action with the IceHogs during that stretch. Stauber won his first two career NHL starts last month, allowing just four goals on 67 shots and has a 3.06 GAA and a .896 SV% in ten minor league contests.
- There’s some good news on the horizon for the Avalanche when it comes to the injury front. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Valeri Nichushkin will return on Tuesday against Colorado. Byram has missed the last 38 games due to a lower-body injury but had been logging nearly 21 minutes a night in his first ten appearances where he picked up five points. Nichushkin, meanwhile, returns from his second ankle injury of the year. He has been quite productive when he has been in the lineup, collecting 18 points in 20 games. Meanwhile, it’s also possible that blueliner Josh Manson accompanies the team on the trip; he has been out for more than two months with a lower-body injury.
- The Panthers are hopeful that winger Anthony Duclair will be able to rejoin the team for practice this week, notes Katie Engelson of Bally Sports Florida (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the entire season so far as he recovered from a torn Achilles. Last season, Duclair had a career year with 31 goals and 27 assists and Florida could really use him back as they look to get back into the playoff picture. With Patric Hornqvist (concussion) on LTIR, they’re not currently in a spot where they need to trade someone in order to free up the cap space to activate Duclair when he’s ready to return.
Chicago Blackhawks Send Three To Minors
The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned a trio of players to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs this morning, per the team. Forward Luke Philp, defenseman Filip Roos, and goalie Jaxson Stauber are all headed back to the American Hockey League.
The transactions leave Chicago with no healthy extra skaters on the active roster and just one goalie, so expect some or all of Philp, Roos, and Stauber to get recalled back to the NHL when Chicago returns from the All-Star break on February 7.
After getting recalled last Monday, the 27-year-old Philp made his NHL debut the following night against Vancouver after a long Canadian collegiate and AHL career up to that point. In his second career game two days later against Calgary, he recorded his first NHL point. Philp has been a solid offensive presence in Rockford this season, recording 30 points in 31 games. He could be a candidate to see a second recall later this season.
Roos, an undrafted 24-year-old rookie out of Sweden, has played 15 games with Chicago this year, recording a goal and two assists. He unexpectedly cracked Chicago’s opening night roster and lasted quite a while, as he stayed there until the Blackhawks assigned him to Rockford on December 13. After just over a month in the minors, where he had a respectable three goals and seven points in 17 games, Roos was recalled to Chicago along with Philp last Monday.
Stauber is the third undrafted free agent signing on this list, acquired by the Blackhawks in free agency after he posted a .921 save percentage in 37 games with Providence College last season. Despite some subpar AHL numbers (a .896 mark through 12 games in Rockford), Stauber’s played well in limited NHL action. He’s stopped 63 of 67 shots faced in two games with Chicago this year, both wins.