Blackhawks reassign Joakim Nordstrom, keep Teuvo Teravainen on roster

The Blackhawks made the move we were hoping for Wednesday, reassigning forward Joakim Nordstrom to the Rockford IceHogs with the removal of Kris Versteeg from LTIR. The move keeps Teuvo Teravainen and Daniel Carcillo on the roster as the final two forwards, saving us from the rant that would’ve came had Teuvo been demoted.

Given the way the ‘Hawks have handled young players in the past, we weren’t sure how the team would deal with Versteeg’s return. Reassigning Teravainen was always a possibility, even though the 20-year-old has quickly proven to be one of the most dynamic players on the roster.

Luckily, the team made the smart move, sending down Nordstrom instead, although now we have to worry about who still stick in the press box. Carcillo is clearly a favorite of the coaching staff at this point, but it would be borderline indefensible to play him while sitting Teuvo. If that’s the case, they might as well have reassigned him.

However, I’m feeling pretty confident that won’t happen, because the Blackhawks have made it clear they’re treating Teuvo differently from other prospects. He wasn’t out with the top-four lines during Wednesday’s morning skate, which is a tad concerning, but we’ll save our anger until he’s actually sitting.

So the ‘Hawks now have Versteeg and Teuvo in the mix, and as I’ve shared before, that could mean a depth chart like this:

Yeah.