With the Chicago Blackhawks clinching the Western Conference but now unable to catch Washington for the President’s Trophy, they are poised to give a couple of their veteran blueliners some rest in the last two games. The team has called up Gustav Forsling from the AHL and it is expected that Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook (or both) will be given a game off to prepare for the playoff run.
Forsling has played 36 games with the NHL club this season, his first in North America since coming over from Sweden. The 20-year old was a fifth-round pick of the Canucks in 2014 and has shown enough to deserve these minutes late in the season. Undersized but confident, Forsling is a future powerplay quarterback that can distribute the puck quickly and effectively.
For the Blackhawks, the team is preparing for a long playoff run once again with their core of veteran players. It’s still unclear who they will face in the first round, as Calgary, Nashville and St. Louis jockey for position. It’s possible that Forsling could earn a spot during the playoff run if the Blackhawks were to suffer an injury or two. It’s a long battle to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, that usually takes at least seven or eight defenders.
Forsling was a Canucks pick. Traded for Adam Clendenning… Ugh as a Canucks fan that still irks me. Don’t know any besides Jim Benning who wanted that trade to happen.
Whoops. Meant to write Canucks. Thanks Aircool.