Blackhawks Bits: Hossa legacy night announced; Hardman recalled

The Blackhawks opened Monday with some roster moves, recalling forward Mike Hardman and assigning defensemen Ian Mitchell to Rockford.

The Blackhawks also returned to practice at Fifth Third Arena Monday morning.

During line rushes, Hardman skated on a newly formed third line with Alex DeBrincat and Henrik Borgstrom. The Jonathan Toews line remains intact while Brandon Hagel joined by Kirby Dach and Patrick Kane. The latter group were together during the third period in Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh and combined for one of the two Blackhawks goals. Tyler Johnson, who started the season with Kane, fell all the way to the fourth line.

Not listed below, but the defensemen were all rotating with each other at one time or another during Monday’s practice.

Considering Dylan Strome has had a lot of offensive success with DeBrincat, the lineup decision to keep sitting Strome definitely caused some raised eyebrows. Adam Gaudette — who could potentially help produce as well — also hasn’t consistently been with offense-minded players so far and looks to be scratched for Tuesday night’s game too.

Coach Jeremy Colliton sidestepped questions about how Dylan Strome would be useful considering the Blackhawks current offensive woes:

Speaking of woes, Tyler Johnson also spoke about the disappointing start to the season:

Despite the slow start and lack of success in previous years, Colliton still seems to have the locker room behind him. Jonathan Toews spoke to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus about how he was “100 percent” behind Colliton:

Last, the Blackhawks announced Monday that Marian Hossa legacy night would be Nov. 9 to coincide with his Hall of Fame induction:

The Blackhawks face the New York Islanders for their home opener at the United Center Tuesday night at 7 p.m.