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Final Fantasy

October 12, 2021, 3:06 AM ET [156 Comments]
Theo Fox
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT

While the NHL season starts today, the Blackhawks fortunately have more time for roster tweaking toward a final version as their season opener versus the Avalanche is tomorrow. Yesterday was busy for all teams and the Hawks were no different with a bevy of movement and decisions.

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Transactions


Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban cleared waivers and were reassigned to Rockford. Decisions need to be made with the IceHogs goalies, though. Barring any trades, Delia and Subban are likely to form a trio with Arvid Soderblom. Cale Morris and Tom Aubrun board the Indy shuttle.

As predicted by many, MacKenzie Entwistle and Philipp Kurashev were also reassigned to the Hogs but as paper transactions to get the Hawks under the salary cap for Day 1 of the regular season. They are expected to be on the Chicago roster in time for the season opener in Denver.

Since his injury timeline is the longest at 6 weeks, Caleb Jones was placed on LTIR. Wyatt Kalynuk will be out no more than 4 weeks while Alec Regula is day-to-day so they are both on season opening IR. Regardless of Regula's status, he should be returned to Rockford soon.

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Erik Gustafsson

It's official. Love him or hate him, Erik Gustafsson is on the roster. What his exact role and level of playing time will be are still unknown. The hope is that he's a temporary solution until Jones returns and/or one of the youngsters like Kalynuk is ready.

If Gustafsson does suit up, his even-strength time should be sheltered. He will absolutely see no time on the penalty kill. Where he may prove valuable is as the quarterback for the 2nd power play unit. Assuming he's on PP2, it may be possible that both units get equitable TOI.

There's no hiding the fact that Gustafsson is a defensive liability. However, there's also no secret that he's an offensive dynamo if put in appropriate situations and paired with a partner who can skate well and hold down the fort as he has more license to wheel and deal.

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Final Roster

Here's the final roster for the Blackhawks as it stands today:

Forwards
* Henrik Borgstrom
* Ryan Carpenter
* Kirby Dach
* Alex DeBrincat
* MacKenzie Entwistle
* Adam Gaudette
* Brandon Hagel
* Tyler Johnson
* Patrick Kane
* Jujhar Khaira
* Dominik Kubalik
* Philipp Kurashev
* Dylan Strome
* Jonathan Toews

Defensemen
* Calvin de Haan
* Erik Gustafsson
* Seth Jones
* Jake McCabe
* Ian Mitchell
* Connor Murphy
* Riley Stillman

Goalies
* Marc-Andre Fleury
* Kevin Lankinen

LTIR
* Caleb Jones

Season-Opening IR
* Wyatt Kalynuk
* Alec Regula

IR
* Andrew Shaw

Once Kalynuk is able to play again, he should effectively replace Mitchell unless Mitchell is excelling and/or Kalynuk needs a conditioning stint in Rockford. Then once Jones is fully healed, he should render Gustafsson unneeded and pushed to waivers.

Jakub Galvas may prove to be the first blueline recall candidate. At forward, Lukas Reichel may be enticing but Mike Hardman and Reese Johnson could get the nod first. Perhaps Andrei Altybarmakian and Evan Barratt earn their cups of coffee at some point, too.

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Starting Lineups

Tomorrow's blog will be a special edition to forecast the Blackhawks starting lineup to kick off the 2021-22 regular season. For now, here is a preliminary projection of the IceHogs starting lineup and depth factoring in Mitchell returning to the AHL within the next few weeks:

Nylander - Reichel - Morrison
Teply - Barratt - Altybarmakian
Slavin - McLaughlin - Hardman
Pour - R Johnson - Chalupa
Wilkie - Yetman - Busdeker
G Mitchell - Gicewicz - Osipov

Beaudin - I Mitchell
Krys - Galvas
Phillips - Regula
Stanton - Crevier
LeGuerrier - Krutil

Subban
Delia
Soderblom

Shuttle between Rockford and Indy:

Forwards
* Liam Folkes
* Kale Howarth
* Riley McKay

Defensemen
* D.J. King
* Cliff Watson

Goalies
* Tom Aubrun
* Cale Morris

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New Blog Format

Unlike last season when I had a preview on each game day and a recap the morning after, I plan to stop doing these previews and recaps which gets tiring and somewhat repetitive over the course of a season.

I figure every fan knows where to get box scores and highlights. There are many reputable news sites on the web that cover the Blackhawks specifically and the NHL in general. You all know where to get your fix.

Instead, for the new format on this site for 2021-22, I will aim for 3 editorial blogs per week and more if there are any headline news and breaking stories pertaining to the Hawks, Hogs, and prospects.

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Readers' Poll

Click here to participate in a readers' poll to submit your predictions for the 2021-22 Blackhawks season. Thank you to those of you who have already cast your ballots! Poll results will be published in tomorrow's blog as the Hawks square off against the Avs later that evening.

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See you on the boards!

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