It’s been far too busy of a news day for the Blackhawks on what’s supposed to be a holiday.
The team is going to practice on Thursday afternoon after Wednesday’s abysmal loss in Columbus, but news before that stole all the headlines, with forward Taylor Hall now slated for a surgery on his right knee that will have him out for the rest of the season:
Athanasiou hasn’t played since that same game against Tampa, hence the retroactive date of his IR designation.
Hall hasn’t looked right since taking this hit against the Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks ago:
Hall’s addition to the Blackhawks was meant as a way to give Connor Bedard a genuine top-six talent to share the ice with during Bedard’s first foray into the NHL. But injuries limited Hall’s entire stint here, with him tallying only 4 points (2 G, 2 A) in 10 games. Hall is under contract through the end of the 2024-25 season at a $6 million cap hit, so this likely is not the end of his Chicago tenure.
With those two forwards going down, two were brought back up:
The call-up of Cole Guttman does bring a hint of intrigue with it, as Guttman impressed in a small sample last season and now gets a chance to build off of that success at the NHL level for the first time this season after starting with the IceHogs.
One other piece of news to keep an eye on Thursday afternoon: Corey Perry was not at practice on Thursday after his surprising healthy scratch on Wednesday night.
Coach Luke Richardson meets with the media after practices, so perhaps he’ll shed some light on this “organizational decision” that’s been keeping Perry sidelined in the last 24 hours.
Happy Thanksgiving, I guess?