Morning Chirps: Slaggert & Rinzel reassigned, Olympic rink concerns

The Chicago Blackhawks will be back on the practice ice today, and they will be short two players who left on the recent road trip. We will keep updated from the Fifth Third Arena as the Blackhawks prepare for their game against the New York Rangers tomorrow night.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Yesterday afternoon, the Blackhawks reassigned forward Landon Slaggert and defenseman Sam Rinzel to the Rockford IceHogs. The Slaggert move was almost expected at this point. Rinzel being sent down isn’t a surprise either. His playing time has been decreasing over the past few games, so sending him to Rockford will do him some good.

• We’ll find out later today who gets recalled from the AHL to fill the empty roster spots. Jeremiah Lee hopes that no matter who is on the roster, Jeff Blashill uses a traditional 12-forward lineup.

• Over the weekend, the IceHogs hosted their annual Teddy Bear Toss. The Rockford fans did not disappoint by donating 4,767 stuffed animals that will be donated to local children’s hospitals and charities.

• Former Blackhawks forward Craig Smith announced his retirement on Monday. He scored 220 goals and 452 points in 987 career NHL games with the Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings. He scored nine goals and 16 points in his 40 games with the Blackhawks last season.

• Team Canada announced its invites for the World Junior Championship training camp. As reported over the weekend, no Blackhawks prospects were on the roster. Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker made cases to play in the tournament, but they were ultimately overlooked.

• On this date in 1973, Stan Mikita became the third player in team history to play 1,000 games. He picked up two helpers in the Blackhawks' 5-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

• Five years later, Mikita joined Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to record 900 career assists, as the Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 9: Phil Belser, Bep Guidolin, Bill Hay, Germain Gagnon, and Pit Martin.

NHL Chirps

• The Olympic rink construction has been a hot topic of late, as we still don’t know if the arena will be ready in time. We do know that the rink will be smaller than NHL specs. It’s insane to think that this was overlooked and allowed to happen. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly is confident the arena will be ready to go by Feb. 2. He added that the league will not send its players if the ice conditions are deemed unsafe. What a mess.

• Logan Cooley avoided a serious injury on Nov. 29 after a knee-on-knee hit by Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko. However, he wasn’t so lucky last Friday when he crashed hard into the net during the Utah Mammoth’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. He missed Saturday's game versus the Calgary Flames. The team announced Cooley will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, but they have yet to place him on injured reserve.

• Patrick Kane was kept off the scoresheet in the Red Wings’ 4-0 win over the Canucks last night. He remains three goals shy of 500 in his career. Detroit will play two more games before they are in town on Saturday night, as Kane chases down the big milestone.

• Former Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi has landed a new professional contract. He signed an AHL deal with the Syracuse Crunch for the remainder of the season.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Dec. 9: Noel Price, Nick Libett, Dana Murzyn, Petr Nedved, Jim Slater, Jeff Petry, Alex Lyon, Ryan Lomberg, Kyle Connor, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Matvei Michkov.