Blackhawks pass on Ryan Shea, sign Cameron Morrison

This past weekend, most Blackhawks fans were focused on the playoffs, but there was some news that leaked out that may have gone unnoticed.

The Chicago Blackhawks signed Cameron Morrison and passed on signing Ryan Shea.

Both of these moves relate to the deadline, August 15, for signing college players.

CapFriendly helpfully tweeted out the news, as well as a list of players that were to be impacted the deadline.

Both Shea and Morrison were on it, but it’s worth noting that Shea is the only Chicago player on it.

These are small moves, but Stan Bowman isn’t waiting around to start tweaking the organization’s depth.

The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus re-tweeted the news that Morrison had been signed by Chicago. Considering that the deadline was August 15, Bowman didn’t waste any time getting Morrison signed.

Originally drafted by Colorado, Morrison is a big winger.

Everyone watching the series against the Golden Knights can see for themselves that Chicago is sometimes struggling against Vegas’ larger team. A few bigger bodies playing for Chicago could help the lineup.

By contrast, Ryan Shea was originally drafted by Chicago. Shea is now a free agent.

Earlier this spring, Scott Powers at The Athletic reported that Chicago was moving on from some other players, including goalie prospects Wouter Peeters and Alexis Gravel.

With the defensive log jam that Chicago has, as well as five goalies under contract until the end of the current season, these moves aren’t a surprise.

However, these moves also indicate that there will likely be more roster changes happening soon.

The 2020 Entry Draft is scheduled for October 6, which is just a couple of months away. New players will be brought into the organization, and there are likely some trades on the horizon.

Chicago is still actively playing games, but moves, even small ones, are happening that will give the team a different look for next year.