Blashill, Blackhawks facing tough roster decisions as key players return

The Chicago Blackhawks were back on the practice ice this morning before boarding a plane to Raleigh, NC, for their game against the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night. With the roster nearly back to full health, head coach Jeff Blashill has some hard decisions to make about who plays and who sits. While it can be tough to navigate a crowded roster, every coach wishes they had the problem of too many productive bodies to choose from.

Frank Nazar Returning to the Lineup

Tuesday marked one month since the last time Frank Nazar played for the Blackhawks. He’s been out of action since getting hit in the face with a puck against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 20. He’s been slowly working his way back, and today he was a full participant in practice, trading in his gray non-contact jersey for the standard red one. Both Nazar and Blashill confirmed that Nazar will play tomorrow night.

Nazar said he’s been ready to play for four weeks, but now he’s allowed to. He’s sporting quite the battle wound these days with a big scar on the right side of his jaw. He is wearing a chin protector on his helmet and not the full “fishbowl” face guard Connor Bedard wore two years ago. He confirmed that he lost about eight pounds while recovering from the broken jaw, but he’s gained about half of it back, and his stamina is good.

Teuvo Teravainen Getting Closer

In addition to Nazar, the Blackhawks have been without one of their key veteran forwards for the last three games. Teuvo Teravainen has not been seen since suffering an upper-body injury in the first period of the Jan. 12 game against the Edmonton Oilers. He was back on the ice Wednesday morning for the first time, wearing the gray non-contact jersey. He did not stay out for the full team workout.

Blashill said that Teravainen has been skating on his own for a few days, so the next step is to get him in a full practice. He is not traveling with the team, so he’ll miss his fourth straight game. The veteran forward is considered day-to-day and is expected back before the Olympic break. Whatever the injury is, it’s not severe enough to prevent him from playing for Finland at the Winter Games next month.

Tough Roster Decisions

With Nazar back from injury, and Andre Burakovsky over his illness, somebody has to come out of the lineup. That someone was Colton Dach. The second-year pro was going to be a healthy scratch twice in the last few games, but was put back into the lineup when Bedard and then Burakovsky fell ill. He was an extra skater today, along with Sam Laffterty. The roster decisions will be even more difficult once Teravainen returns.

“I think it’s a good thing, number one, to have tough roster decisions,” Blashill said. “Certainly, we are mindful of the long-term development of some of the young players, and so, we’re trying to put guys into positions where they can succeed. So, if it gets to a point where a young guy maybe isn’t playing, you look at potentially using Rockford, but we’ll take that when it comes. We’re not there yet at all.”

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out over the last few games before the Olympic break. Internal competition is a good thing. You never want a player to ever feel too comfortable in his spot. This will be a theme over the next couple of seasons as more and more young talent arrives at the NHL level. If you feel that you’re not getting enough playing time, go out and prove why you deserve a bigger role. A young team pushing to make each other better is exactly what general manager Kyle Davidson envisioned, and now it’s beginning to manifest itself.