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Marcus Kruger will be back with the Chicago Blackhawks this fall after the team re-acquired him in a seven-player trade Thursday with the Arizona Coyotes.
Kruger told reporters during a conference call that he expects to be ready to go for the team’s training camp after undergoing a sports hernia surgery in the offseason.
Marcus Kruger said he'll be ready to go for training camp. Said it was a tough year last year. "I’m really excited to show what I can do and how I can play."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 12, 2018
Marcus Kruger: "Really excited. Couldn’t be any more happy. Ready to go and just overall really excited to be back."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 12, 2018
The 28-year-old center scored only one goal and dished out five assists along with a 55.4 faceoff percentage in 48 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. Kruger was traded to Arizona in May for forward Jordan Martinook and a 2018 fourth-round pick.
Kruger returns to Chicago where he played seven seasons with the Hawks from 2010-2017 and won two Stanley Cups in 2013 and ‘15. He posted 105 points (33 goals, 72 assists) in 398 games during his first stint with Chicago after being drafted in the fifth round in 2009.
In his final season in Chicago before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, Kruger scored 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 70 regular-season games.