The Blackhawks transferred Drake Caggiula to long-term injured reverse, retroactive to Nov. 10, on Wednesday. Chicago also recalled forward Anton Wedin from the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL.
Caggiula suffered his second concussion Nov. 10 against Toronto and has missed all seven games since then.
Caggiula talked with the media today. He said he felt something wasn’t right a few days after being hit in the face with the shot. He believes it stemmed from that. He’s been skating on his own the last four days.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) November 28, 2019
Caggiula gets a puck to the face and Holl goes to the box for interference. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/uYSdct4HgQ
— Maple Leafs Hotstove (@LeafsNews) November 11, 2019
The 25-year-old winger has three goals and four points in 15 games this season in a primarily bottom-six role. He also missed 13 games toward the end of last season with a concussion.
A player placed on LTIR has to miss at least 10 NHL games and 24 days, so the earliest Caggiula could return is Thursday, Dec. 5 at Boston. He did skate on his own before Chicago’s practice Monday.
#Blackhawks placed Drake Caggiula on LTIR.
We currently show Chicago with a projected cap hit of $80,796,166.
However, the club is also $702,500 over the 7.5% bonus cushion, which when added on to the projected cap hit puts them at $81,498,666.https://t.co/QuLYug8jiG pic.twitter.com/bbmrgcN1wm
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) November 28, 2019
Chicago placed forward Dylan Strome in concussion protocol Tuesday night, which is the likely reason for Wedin’s call up. The 26-year-old Wedin has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 17 games with the IceHogs in his first professional season in North America.
It’s the second time in three days Chicago has recalled a forward from the AHL. On Monday, the Blackhawks brought up Matthew Highmore, who played the next night in his first NHL game since March 2018 in a 3-0 win against the Stars.
The Blackhawks have a home-and-home set against the Avalanche on Friday and Saturday, starting in Chicago.