Blackhawks Claim Zach Sanford off of Waivers (Get to Know Him)

The Blackhawks have claimed veteran forward Zach Sanford off of waivers today (from the Arizona Coyotes). The 29 year old was orginally a late second round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The Salem, MA native is a big (6'4 207lb) left wing left shot forward. With 100 career NHL points, to get that kind of NHL production for nothing is a boon for Kyle Davidson as he deals with a multitude of roster injuries and uncertainties.

The last time Sanford saw consistent NHL time was the 4 season span from 2018-2022 playing for the St. Blues and the Ottawa Senators. In that span, Sanford amassed 83 points playing mainly a bottom 6 role as a hard to play against larger RW. Since then, Sanford has bounced around between the Jets, Predators, and most recently the Coyotes organizations.

While it isn't ideal, Sanford provides a competent NHL caliber forward for the time until the regular roster gets healthy. At that time, Sanford having put in time over 5 different seasons in the AHL can then slide into a prominent role for the Icehogs if needed.

Just like Rem Pitlick, whom had a natural hat trick against the Kraken two seasons ago, Zach Sanford has one of "those games" in his history as well... see below:

So, all in all, adding a player with great size, an NHL pedigree, and a 4 goal game in his arsenal for absolutely nothing can't be viewed at as anything other than a win on a day where all the news seems to be negative.