The Chicago Blackhawks finished the preseason on Saturday, and they are leaving for Sunrise on Sunday. The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers await them for the season opener on Tuesday night.
Ahead of their trip, the Blackhawks made some announcements. They started with a one-year deal for Matt Grzelcyk, which will carry a cap hit of $1 million.
Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) on X
sunday signing✍️
everyone say hi Matt!!👋
🚨 https://t.co/DVBQHSYtY5
Grzelcyk wasn’t above-average during the preseason, but he is a veteran player who has experience playing in the league. Being the team’s security blanket on defense is a good role for him right now.
None of Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan, or Elthan Del Mastro earned the team’s confidence as their permanent 6th defenseman. Louis Crevier is not waiver exempt, so he was the obvious 7th defenseman option.
Del Mastro was not one of the roster cuts made, but the team is unsure if Alex Vlasic will be ready for opening night as he recovers from a lower-body injury sustained during the preseason.
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‼️roster update‼️
📰➡️ https://t.co/ml6NerC6Xw
All of the players who were called up specifically to play in the preseason finale against the St. Louis Blues were sent back down to the AHL.
Nolan Allan and Kevin Korchinski were among those who were sent down to the Rockford IceHogs. They will have to play their way up and wait for chances to get in the NHL lineup.
At forward, Ryan Greene and Oliver Moore joined those going back to Rockford. The situation is different here than it is on defense. Both had solid camps and preseasons, but they will go to the AHL to play a lot of minutes and keep working on getting better.
Lukas Reichel remains with the big club as one of their bottom forwards, so until that day comes when he’s traded, he will be a part of the group.
All of these moving parts are fluid, and the team that plays the season finale might look a lot different than the one that plays on opening night. For now, most of the early decisions have been made. Vlasic’s status will be learned before puck drop on Tuesday, which will influence things as well.
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