The Chicago Blackhawks today announced that the team has assigned forward Frank Nazar, along with defensemen Louis Crevier and Kevin Korchinski to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. The team has also assigned forward AJ Spellacy to the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
The regular season is 6 days away and some of the biggest roster questions have been answered, with Nazar heading down to AHL with Korchinski and Spellacy returning to junior. Reichel is still around but appears to be a man without a spot, who may be moved in a change of scenery situation.
the athletic’s projection sees a real step forward but remaining a really bad team.
*Do not expect there to be a postseason thread
The problem with scorched earth rebuilds is that it takes time for that earth to become fertile ground again. Even massive steps can still have a franchise far away from competitiveness.
That’s exactly where Chicago lands with an expected 25-point improvement … that still has the Blackhawks almost 20 points out of a playoff spot in the West. All that money spent in free agency isn’t enough to completely turn this team around, leaving it very likely that the Blackhawks will once again be a bottom-five outfit. They landed there in 54 percent of simulations.