Dominic Toninato sent to the Rockford IceHogs as Blackhawks depth returns

The Chicago Blackhawks await their next game against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 23, and in the meantime, the team made some roster moves.

The Blackhawks announced today (Oct. 18) that they reassigned Dominic Toninato to the Rockford IceHogs.

Toninato returns to Rockford as Blackhawks players return

This is Toninato's second season with the organization, and he played in eight games with the Blackhawks last season.

The 32 year old was recalled from Rockford twice last season when Nick Foligno and Oliver Moore were out with injuries. Toninato was recalled early this season under the same circumstances: when the Blackhawks were without Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teräväinen, and Andrew Mangiapane due to injuries. Frank Nazar's two-game suspension also came into play.

Toninato played on a line with Ryan Donato and Oliver Moore in the bottom six. Head coach Jeff Blashill said after they recalled him on Oct. 7, "We called Tony up because he's a center. He's a good player. I can trust him, for sure. He's a guy that's very trustworthy. But I think it allows him to move into center. Kind of allows Mooresy (Oliver Moore) to play the wing, which I wanted to try to do. I think Tony will do a good job with that line of giving them some stability defensively, too. He's played a lot of center in his time in pro hockey, and so I think he's a pretty stable guy and kind of similar to Greener (Ryan Greene) to be honest with you. And he's got enough skill to make a play and move the puck to the right person, but also be dependable. And [he's] another left-shot face-off guy."

When the Blackhawks were missing some key centers, Toninato's ability to slot in down the middle was important to them. He averaged 8:52 minutes of ice time and recorded a 55.6 percent faceoff percentage in the three games he played.

But when Bedard and Nazar returned to the lineup, Toninato became the odd man out as he was healthy-scratched the last two games.

And as my colleague Gail Kauchak mentioned on X, Mangiapane is expected to resume skating soon. Blashill mentioned on Oct. 16 that they were hoping Mangiapane would be able to start skating on his own this weekend. He was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 7 with a lower-body injury.

Overall, Toninato was good insurance for the Blackhawks when they needed depth. But now he will be a big addition to the IceHogs, as they started their season 1-4.

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