Morning Bag Skate: Joakim Nordstrom assignment leaves open roster spot

The winning streak is up to seven games for the Blackhawks after an exciting 3-2 shootout victory over the Devils on Tuesday night. With the day off before visiting Boston on Thursday, let's catch up on the latest news:

**At least four or five teams have inquired on the availability of Jeremy Morin, who could be on his way soon after a conditioning assignment. (SCH)

**The 'Hawks also assigned Joakim Nordstrom to Rockford, so they played last night's game without an extra forward on the roster. (Chicago Tribune)

**The Canadiens had a big pregame event to honor Jean Beliveau on Tuesday night, including leaving his old seat open with just a jersey draped over it. It'll be interesting to see if they keep the jersey there going forward, but either way, it was a nice touch. (Puck Daddy)

**Mike Babcock says this is the strongest Red Wings team since the one that reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009 (PHT)

**Coyotes GM Don Maloney is happy that his team has strong chemistry, but he's still waiting for the results to come. (Arizona Republic)

**Ilya Bryzgalov is back in the NHL after Anaheim announced a one-year deal with him (Ducks)

**Anaheim also announced that leading goalscorer Corey Perry would miss 3-4 weeks with a knee sprain (Ducks)

**Semyon Varlamov is going to miss some time with an ongoing groin injury (Denver Post)

**The Flames don't have a low payroll because ownership refuses to spend money, says GM Brian Burke. Only the Senators are spending less on their roster this season. (Sportsnet)

**The Blackhawks will send a bunch of dudes to the All-Star Game but none of them will come close to matching the vote totals of Zemgus Girgensons. (Puck Daddy)

**We could see Rangers forward Anthony Duclair suiting up for Canada in the World Juniors tournament (New York Post)

**The Bruins have released veteran defenseman Ian White from his tryout in the AHL (PHT)