- Now that forward Connor Bedard has returned to the Chicago Blackhawks after missing time with a broken jaw, Tracey Myers of the NHL suggests the team could see the return of another forward very soon. Since joining the Blackhawks via a trade on November 28th, Anthony Beauvillier has only managed 15 games for the team, suffering a left wrist injury on January 2nd against the Nashville Predators. In the report, Myers mentions that Beauvillier was a full participant in today’s practice, indicating that Beauvillier could return tomorrow or Monday.
- It is not all positive news on the injury front for Chicago; however, as Myers also reported that forward Taylor Raddysh missed today’s practice with an injury to his right quad. Managing a 20-goal campaign as recently as last year for the Blackhawks, Raddysh’s offensive output has certainly stagnated this season, only registering five goals and 11 points in 49 games up to this point.
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Blackhawks Rumors
Snapshots: Bedard, Vanecek, Jeannot
The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly working with local doctors to see if Connor Bedard can make a surprise return to the lineup on Thursday night, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This return would come well ahead of expectations, with head coach Luke Richardson previously stating his hope was for Bedard to return next week. To say Bedard’s return would be impactful is an understatement. The 18-year-old rookie phenom still leads the team in scoring despite missing their last 14 games. The Blackhawks have been abysmal in his absence, going 3-10-1. This includes a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) that the Hawks currently find themselves on, with the team netting just eight goals over the stretch.
Adding back their top scorer, the most recent first-overall selection, and the highest-acclaimed prospect since Connor McDavid will bring a breath of fresh air to a desperate Chicago lineup. Bedard has 15 goals and 33 points in 39 games this season, on pace for 70 points in his rookie season. That would be the most a Chicago rookie has scored since Artemi Panarin managed 30 goals and 77 points in 80 games during the 2015-16 season.
Other notes from around the league:
New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek has recovered from an illness that held him out of Tuesday’s game. But head coach Lindy Ruff shares that he is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and will continue to be unavailable. Ruff shared that Vanecek will miss the next two games, including New Jersey’s Stadium Series matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey is expected to turn towards Nico Daws in Vanecek’s absence.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tanner Jeannot has been designated as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per team reporter Eduardo A. Encina with the Tampa Bay Times. Jeannot made his return on Tuesday from a lower-body injury that held him out of the team’s last 12 games. Encina adds that head coach Jon Cooper is hoping Jeannot’s new injury won’t be long-term as well. Jeannot has appeared in 42 games when healthy this season, scoring 12 points, split evenly.
Blackhawks Place Luke Philp On Waivers, Jarred Tinordi On IR
Feb. 14: Philp cleared waivers on Wednesday and can head to Rockford, Friedman said.
Feb. 13: The Blackhawks have activated forward Luke Philp off season-opening injured reserve and placed on waivers with the intent to assign him to AHL Rockford, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Tuesday.
Philp, 28, did not participate in training camp with Chicago after undergoing Achilles surgery in August. He’s now close to resuming game action after making his NHL debut last season and will do so with Rockford.
With the Blackhawks’ near-consistent rash of injuries on offense this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philp get another NHL look before the 2023-24 campaign wraps up. He’s been a consistent top-six presence in the minors since graduating from the University of Alberta in 2019, capping things off with a career-high 29 goals and 53 points in 60 games with Rockford last season.
He recorded one assist in three games with Chicago in 2022-23, averaging 11:41 per game through a pair of appearances in January and one in March. The Canmore, Alberta native is slated for unrestricted free agency this summer after completing a one-year, two-way extension with a minimum guaranteed salary of $425K.
His spot on IR has been taken by veteran defenseman Jarred Tinordi, whose placement is retroactive to Feb. 7 with a groin injury, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. The 31-year-old missed Friday’s game against the Rangers and has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Canucks. Signed to a one-year, $1.25MM extension, Tinordi has six assists and a -19 rating in 30 games.
Blackhawks Place Rem Pitlick On Waivers
The Blackhawks placed forward Rem Pitlick on waivers Wednesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Rockford, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.
Chicago acquired Pitlick from the Penguins on Jan. 6 in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. Since the trade, the 26-year-old has played in nine games, failing to record a point and posting a -7 rating while averaging 15:35 per game.
Pitlick is in the second season of a two-year, $2.2MM contract signed with the Canadiens in July 2022. After splitting the 2022-23 campaign between Montreal and AHL Laval, Pitlick was included in the three-way deal between the Canadiens, Penguins and Sharks that saw 2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson head to Pittsburgh.
Despite recording 21 goals and 52 points in 112 games over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns, Pitlick did not crack the Penguins’ roster out of training camp and was waived in September before being assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After posting eight goals and 16 assists in 32 minor-league contests, the Blackhawks acquired Pitlick to add some forward depth in the wake of a rash of injuries around the New Year.
The team is slowly getting healthier, though, and names like Connor Bedard and Anthony Beauvillier are nearing returns. As such, Pitlick has been a healthy scratch in four of Chicago’s last five games after failing to make an impact on the scoresheet. In his lone recent appearance, a Feb. 9 game against the Rangers, he played fourth-line minutes and recorded a -1 rating without getting a shot on goal.
With a $1.1MM cap hit and a disappointing call-up, the likelihood of Pitlick being claimed on the waiver wire is nearly nonexistent. The University of Minnesota product will be a UFA this summer.
Connor Bedard Likely To Return Next Week
Colorado Avalanche announcer Conor McGahey tweeted that Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is okay after hitting his face on the ice on Saturday night in a game against the Florida Panthers. The 28-year-old superstar didn’t practice today due to a different minor tweak, but the team is hopeful that he’ll be able to play tomorrow night against the Washington Capitals.
MacKinnon is currently second in NHL scoring with 32 goals and 53 assists in 53 games but has been held pointless in three straight games.
In other Central Division notes:
- Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope tweeted that the Chicago Blackhawks expect to get rookie phenom Connor Bedard back into the lineup next week. Bedard has a final imaging appointment a week from today and if the appointment goes well Bedard could be back into action by the middle of next week. Bedard’s return will be a welcome development for himself and the Blackhawks as the 18-year-old hasn’t played since January 5th and has 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games this season.
- The Winnipeg Jets have activated forward David Gustafsson off the injured reserve and loaned him to their AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose for conditioning purposes. The 23-year-old has missed the previous 18 games with a lower-body injury and hasn’t dressed since December 22nd. He has just two assists in his last 21 games and hasn’t scored a goal since October 30th. In 27 games this season the native of Tingsryd, Sweden has just two goals and two assists.
- The Arizona Coyotes have extended the contract of Director of Amateur Scouting Darryl Plandowski. No terms of the deal were released, but the extension will keep Plandowski with the Coyotes for the foreseeable future. Plandowski was a big part of the Tampa Bay Lightning as he spent 12 years with the organization and was part of the club during their two Stanley Cup championships. He worked his way through the Lightning organization into the role of Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting before eventually joining Arizona in 2020.
Afternoon Notes: Perron, Harvey-Pinard, Athanasiou
The Edmonton Oilers could be interested in trading for Detroit Red Wings winger David Perron, per team reporter Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Matheson shares that Oiler general manager Ken Holland has long been a fan of Perron, though the Red Wings would need to retain half of Perron’s $4.75MM cap hit if any deal were to go through. The Oilers have proven their interest in veteran wingers already, signing free agent Corey Perry to a one-year, $1MM contract. Perry managed his first point as an Oiler on Friday, recording an assist on Evander Kane’s second-period goal.
Perron, 35, has been in the NHL since 2007 – jumping straight into the league after getting selected 26th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. His 27 points in 62 games as a rookie is the lowest that Perron has scored in his career when he appeared in 50 or more games in a season. He’s proven incredibly productive, even into his glory years – tallying 58, 57, and 56 points respectively across the last three seasons. He has 10 goals and 23 points in 44 games this year, currently on his lowest scoring pace since the 2015-16 season when he managed just 16 points in 43 games.
Perry and Perron aren’t just 1000-game veterans of the NHL, they’re both Stanley Cup champions – with Perry winning with the 2007 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Perron winning with the 2019 St. Louis Blues. The pair has nearly 300 playoff games under their belt – with Perron making up 104 of those games – bringing a much-needed playoff poise to an Oilers team that has made the Conference Finals just once since 2006.
The Red Wings would have the upper hand in any trade negotiations for Perron, especially since they’ll need to retain salary. The Oilers own their first-round selection in each of the next three drafts, as well as their second-round pick this year. They may need to be ready to part with some of those picks if they want to bring in a 17-year veteran in Perron.
Other notes from around the league:
- Montreal Canadiens forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard exited the team’s Saturday afternoon game against the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury suffered on a collision with teammate Joel Armia. Harvy-Pinard previously missed seven weeks of the season with a lower-body injury, limiting the 25-year-old to just 23 games on the season. He’s scored one goal and seven points in those outings, adding six penalty minutes.
- The Chicago Blackhawks saw Andreas Athanasiou return to practice on Saturday, marking his first skate since suffering a groin injury in early November. Athanasiou, 29, has played in just 11 games this season, recording four assists but still searching for his first goal of the year. His return will be a breath of fresh air for a Blackhawks offense that’s scored just 10 goals over their last eight games, going 1-6-1 in the matchups. Athanasiou scored 20 goals and 40 points last season, his highest productivity since scoring 30 goals and 54 points in the 2018-19 season.
Jarred Tinordi Dealing With Lower-Body Injury
Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi has a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision against the Rangers on Friday, head coach Luke Richardson said Friday (via Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago). 22-year-old rookie Louis Crevier will make his first appearance since Chicago recalled him from AHL Rockford on Wednesday if Tinordi can’t play, Richardson said.
The physical depth blue-liner has played in 30 of Chicago’s 51 games this season, recording six assists and a -19 rating while averaging 15:44 per game. A first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2010, Tinordi has worked his way into a stable NHL job with the rebuilding Blackhawks after they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers at the beginning of the 2022-23 season.
His value to Chicago comes in the form of pro experience and leadership, however – not so much from his on-ice performance. Tinordi’s 38.7% Corsi share at even strength is the worst among qualified Blackhawks skaters, although that figure is no doubt exacerbated by his sparingly low usage in the offensive zone.
Richardson: Unlikely Bedard Will Return Early
- While Connor Bedard has been holding out hope that he could return earlier than expected, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson poured cold water on that idea today. He told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the rookie center’s return is unlikely to come before the original six-week mark. Despite missing more than a month now, Bedard still leads all rookies in points with 33 in just 39 games.
Blackhawks Activate Tyler Johnson, Recall Louis Crevier
Tracey Myers of NHL.com is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have made a pair of roster moves today activating forward Tyler Johnson off the injured reserve and recalling defenseman Louis Crevier from the Rockford IceHogs.
Johnson had been sidelined with a right foot injury since December 31st and will presumably slide into the Blackhawks’ third line alongside Lukas Reichel and Mackenzie Entwistle. Given the Blackhawks forward personnel, the 33-year-old Johnson will also likely see time on Chicago’s first powerplay unit.
Early in his career, Johnson was a perennial 20-goal scorer but hasn’t hit that mark since the 2018-19 season. This year Johnson has nine goals and four assists in 35 games and could become a trade chip for Chicago as we near the NHL trade deadline. Johnson is in the last year of his contract and carries a $5MM cap hit, and while he does have a 20-team trade list there could be interest in the veteran as a buy-low option if he can show he still has his scoring touch.
Crevier on the other hand, has dressed in 15 games this season for Chicago and has three assists. He will likely serve as the Blackhawks’ healthy scratch tonight against the Minnesota Wild but could see action at some point during his recall. The 22-year-old has yet to score a goal in professional hockey at either the AHL or NHL level but does offer some other attributes that aren’t often seen in professional hockey. Standing 6’8” tall, Crevier is very solid in the defensive zone as his size allows him to disrupt offensive sequences and close gaps that smaller players might not be able to.
Chicago Set To Host St. Louis In 2025 Winter Classic
The Chicago Blackhawks are set for a rematch in the 2025 Winter Classic, taking on the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field per team reporter Ben Pope with the Chicago Suntimes. This will be a reliving of the 2017 Winter Classic which saw St. Louis topple Chicago 4-1 at Busch Stadium, the home to the MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals. They’ll now move to the home of the Chicago Cubs, effectively embracing the thick rivalries between the two cities.
This announcement will, above all else, provide future NHL star Connor Bedard with the first outdoor game of his NHL career. The top overall selection in last year’s draft is no stranger to outdoor games, with the WHL’s Regina Pats routinely hosting outdoor events like the Hockey Night on Wascana. But he will need to make sure he’s used to the setting if he plans to stay in Chicago. The 2025 Winter Classic will mark the fifth time that Chicago has played in the event. Couple that with two stadium series appearances, and the Blackhawks will take the lead for most outdoor games of any NHL club when they take the ice at Wrigley Field next year. Chicago will be beating out the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have seen three Winter Classics and three Stadium Series games.
This news also sets up Wrigley Field to become just the second venue to host two Winter Classics – fittingly sharing the title with Boston’s Fenway Park. The Blackhawks will hope for a better outcome than their last game at Wrigley, which ended in a 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jiri Hudler and the Detroit Red Wings.