As soon as Max Domi signed with Chicago just minutes into free agency last summer, the expectation was that he’d be traded at the deadline when there wasn’t much money left on his one-year, $3MM contract. However, in a recent 32 Thoughts appearance, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (video link) that it’s not a guarantee that Domi moves. He’s enjoying a nice bounce-back year with the Blackhawks, collecting 11 goals and 13 assists in 36 games so far, good for second on the team in scoring. He’s also winning draws at a career-best clip of 56.3%. If he’s happy in his role and having some success, it may make more sense for Chicago to try to extend the 27-year-old. That’s a discussion GM Kyle Davidson is expected to have with Domi’s representation in the coming weeks.
Blackhawks Rumors
Arvid Soderblom Out Week-To-Week
The Chicago Blackhawks got bad news today regarding one of their organization’s goalies, Arvid Soderblom. Per the Blackhawks’ AHL Affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, Soderblom will be out for the next two to three weeks with a groin injury.
This news comes as a setback for Soderblom, 23, during what has been a poor start to his AHL season. In five games there, Soderblom has a 1-3 record, a 4.17 goals-against-average, and a grisly .862 save percentage.
He’s spent most of the year in the NHL as the Blackhawks dealt with injuries to Alex Stalock and Petr Mrazek. He hasn’t fared much better there, although he was admittedly playing behind one of the league’s worst teams. In 15 NHL games this year Soderblom has a 2-10-2 record, a 3.45 goals-against-average, and a .894 save percentage.
Having suffered this injury, Soderblom will now be out of action for the next few weeks. In his absence, the IceHogs will lean on goalies Dylan Wells and Jaxson Stauber with Wells possibly first in line for an NHL call-up.
Tyler Johnson's Early-Season Ankle Injury Hasn't Fully Healed
- While Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson returned to the lineup a little more than two weeks ago, he isn’t fully healthy yet. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that the 32-year-old is still dealing with a left ankle injury, one that may not be fully recovered until the end of the season. Despite still being banged up, Johnson has logged more than 15 minutes a night since returning and has three goals and five assists in 12 games so far this season.
Could Sam Lafferty Be A Trade Candidate For Chicago?
- While Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are the headliners among Chicago’s speculative trade candidates, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago posits that forward Sam Lafferty might be of interest on the trade market closer to the trade deadline. The 27-year-old has eight points and 37 hits in 26 games this season while winning a little over 52% of his faceoffs. He can play all three forward positions as well and that type of versatility can be appealing to contending teams. At a $1.15MM AAV through next season, he’s also someone most teams should be able to afford so Lafferty could very well be an under-the-radar candidate to move over the next couple of months from the Blackhawks.
Alex Stalock Returning To Lineup
- Chicago Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock is returning to the lineup tonight after missing nearly two months with a concussion sustained in a November 1 game against the New York Islanders. He’s statistically been Chicago’s best netminder this season with a .914 save percentage in seven appearances, and despite missing so much time, still has the most wins of any Blackhawks goalie with three.
Evening Notes: Kane, Motte, Chartier, Ovechkin
Earlier today, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus wrote a piece comparing and contrasting the position the Chicago Blackhawks are in as compared to the Nashville Predators. Lazerus advocated that Chicago’s position, in the depths of a full-scale rebuild, was more enviable than the Predators, who have several large contracts on the books for years to come, preventing them from building on it, while the team’s core hasn’t had much playoff success. As compelling as Lazerus’ article was, another interesting element was who he chose to talk to on these thoughts: Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane.
Lazerus discusses the idea with Kane, stating the winger has “’future general manager’ written all over him.” Kane’s response to that sentiment was rather intriguing as well, telling Lazerus he might be interested in something in the front office down the road, but once retirement comes around, he’d like to focus on being a dad and give his partner, Amanda, a break. That, presumably, is still a ways away for the 34-year-old, who is still playing elite level hockey and is expected to be an expensive asset at this year’s trade deadline, and again on this summer’s free agent market. Should he stick with Chicago and work his way up in their front office, an on-ice legend becoming GM not only wouldn’t be unheard of, but in today’s NHL would put him along some of the best executives in the game, including Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman.
- The Ottawa Senators enjoyed an exciting game this evening against the Washington Capitals, even if they did wind up losing in overtime, but it unfortunately came at an even greater cost. The team lost forward Tyler Motte in the first period to an upper-body injury, and just moments later, forward Rourke Chartier was forced to leave the game, also with an upper-body injury. Overall, Ottawa did well for itself this evening considering they were forced to play down two men for a majority of the game. Now their attention will towards both injured players moving forward. Motte, a strong two-way player, has nine points through 31 games this season while Chartier was playing in just his sixth NHL game of the season. The Senators will have some extra time to deal with their injuries, tomorrow’s game cancelled amid a poor weather forecast, next playing December 27th.
- Alex Ovechkin has hit another impressive milestone. It wasn’t the one most fans were hoping for this evening, just one goal behind Gordie Howe for second all-time. However, with his sixth shot this evening, the legendary forward passed Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for most shots-on-goal all-time. Bourque previously held the record with 6,209 shots on goal. Considering Ovechkin is still motoring on as good as he’s ever been, and each shot being a new record, time will merely tell if his final number is a record even remotely breakable.
Blackhawks Not Currently Active In Trade Discussions
The Blackhawks are a team that many are keeping an eye on when it comes to the trade front with long-time veterans Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews among those that could potentially be on the move between now and the March 3rd trade deadline, assuming that they’re willing to waive their trade protection. However, GM Kyle Davidson told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that he has yet to have any specific trade talks on any of his players just yet. With the trade market largely being stalled out right now due to a lack of cap flexibility, there’s no immediate rush to start to get a sense of what the market might be for some of their veterans. That should change at some point in the new year, especially when Kane and Toews decide whether they’d like to move on or if they want to remain with Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks Make Several Roster Moves
The Chicago Blackhawks were forced to make several moves today, starting with the placement of Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with a facial fracture. Tinordi was hit in the mouth with the puck last night and forced to leave the game, just a week after being hit in the chin with a skate. With the roster spot, the team has recalled Isaak Phillips from the minor leagues. The team has also activated Alex Stalock from injured reserve while sending Arvid Soderblom back to the AHL.
Tinordi, 30, has received the best opportunity of his career this season in Chicago, playing 25 games already. That has nearly matched his single-season high of 28, while his five points are already tied for a career-high. The massive, physical defenseman has averaged nearly 17 minutes a night and racked up 92 hits in those 25 games since being claimed off waivers at the start of the year. It is not clear how long he will be out.
Phillips, 21, is one of the young defensemen that the Blackhawks seem to not want to use much at the NHL level this season, giving him a chance to continue his development with the Rockford IceHogs. Selected in the fifth round in 2020, he has appeared four times for Chicago and is still looking for his first NHL point. In 25 games with Rockford, the 6’3″ defenseman has 17 points.
Stalock is returning from a concussion that he suffered on November 1 against the New York Islanders, and has played in just seven games so far. The veteran goaltender was good in those, posting a .914 save percentage and 2.93 goals-against average, but will have to be slowly worked back in after so much time off. Now 35, Stalock can perhaps give some consistency to the position for the Blackhawks, as the young Soderblom struggled after being forced into the crease, and Petr Mrazek has been nearly unplayable, posting an .872 in 11 appearances.
Ethan Del Mastro Named To Team Canada's Leadership Group For WJC
- With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
Alex Vlasic Out With Broken Fibula
The Chicago Blackhawks filled up their NHL roster with veteran names this summer so that they could keep top prospects developing in the minor leagues, competing for a Calder Cup championship. Unfortunately, that development only happens if they can stay healthy, and today the Rockford IceHogs announced some bad news. Alex Vlasic will miss six weeks with a right fibula fracture.
Vlasic, 21, is one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects, drafted 43rd overall in 2019. The 6’6″ defenseman spent three seasons at Boston University eliminating the competition’s best players on a nightly basis and didn’t look out of place during a 15-game stint with Chicago at the end of last year This season, the hulking defender had six points in 21 games with the IceHogs and sat second in +/- with a +13 rating. A standout even among a talented young group in Rockford, there are many more NHL games in Vlasic’s future.
He’ll now miss a big chunk of his first full professional season as six weeks will take him out until nearly February. Rockford, 7-1-2 in their last ten, will have to keep up the pace without him, as even with that strong stretch they remain in third place in the Central Division.