Roster moves force lineup change & other Blackhawks practice notes

On Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks reassigned forward Landon Slaggert and defenseman Sam Rinzel to the Rockford IceHogs. The Slaggert move was expected after he failed to crack the lineup during the recent four-game road trip. Rinzel's going down was not a tremendous surprise either, as his playing time and trust from the coaching staff had been diminishing over the last couple of weeks.

Going down to the American Hockey League and playing a big role for the IceHogs will do Rinzel a lot of good. We’ve seen just last year how well it worked with Wyatt Kaiser. He got off to a good start, but then the league caught up to him. He was sent down in January, and when he returned about a month later, the difference was noticeable, and he hasn’t looked back since.

“This is a really hard league if you start to struggle to gain traction,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “So, go down, get your swagger with the puck back, get put in situations, hopefully get time on the power play, more than he was getting here, and get that swagger with the puck. Improving some of the techniques defensively and getting your swagger back. I think it’s a great opportunity for him.”

Dominic Toninato Back in Chicago

With Slaggert back in Rockford, the Blackhawks needed an extra forward. They recalled veteran Dominic Toninato to fill that role. It’s not the sexy call-up some were hoping for, like Nick Lardis, but it makes sense. You sent down a fourth-liner, so you recall somebody who plays a similar role.

Tominato had an impressive training camp with the Blackhawks and even scored a couple of goals during the preseason. He has five goals and 17 points in 24 AHL games this season. The 31-year-old winger has 189 games of NHL experience with the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Winnipeg Jets, scoring 13 goals and 35 points.

“Right now, I can’t say he’ll start in the lineup tomorrow night,” Blashill said. “We’ll kind of play that out, but he is a guy who can play center; he can give us some of those fourth-line minutes as a center, gives us some flexibility there. So, we’ll see where it goes. He’s a good pro, that’s for sure. I like having him around. He’s a good pro.”

Back to a 12-6 Lineup

Even though Blashill’s seven-defenseman, 11-forward strategy has had some success this season, many were ready to see him go back to a traditional 12-forward lineup. No defenseman was recalled when Rinzel was sent to Rockford, so the Blackhawks will only have six defensemen to dress tomorrow night versus the New York Rangers.

The defensive pairings got a bit of a shake-up with guys moving around. Here’s how the Blackhawks took line rushes at this morning’s practice:

Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakvosky
Tyler Bertuzzi-Frank Nazar-Oliver Moore
Teuvo Teravainen-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach-Ryan Donato-Sam Lafferty
Dominic Toninato

Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser-Connor Murphy

“We’ve run 11 and seven for a long time for a multitude of reasons,” said Blashill. “We’ll work back toward 12 and six, and does that help some other guys get some more minutes? Does it help their own personal development? Maybe. We’ll see. We’re hoping this is a win-win for everybody. Sam can go down, improve his game, and get his swagger back, and some guys here, like Arty, can potentially play more minutes in different situations and get a little more set partners.”

Nick Folingo Gets “Closer” to Returning

Before the Blackhawks took the ice at the Fifth Third Arena this morning, captain Nick Foligno skated on his own. He’s been out of action since injuring his left hand against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 15. While he didn’t participate in practice, today was a good step in the right direction. He was initially given a one-month timetable for a return, so we are just a few days shy of that mark.

“He’s closer,” Blashill said. “I don’t want to put a timeline on it right now. It’s good that he’s skating. I think as it gets closer to being a potential to get back in, I’ll let you guys know, but right now it’s good he’s skating, and the healing process has gone well. He’s obviously itching to get in sooner than later, but we’re still a little ways away.”