At some point it’s gotta stop, right? The Chicago Blackhawks announced on Monday that forward Joey Anderson was placed on the IR after a shoulder injury which presuambly was what pulled him from yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
But add Anderson into a long line of Blackhawks who have been shelved for either the season–or a part of the season for some reason. Lately, it’s been injury just decimating the team and will cause general manager Kyle Davidson and head coach Luke Richardson to once again examine who to bring up and how to best deploy.
Blackhawks Struggling to Stay Healthy
Taylor Hall squeezed out ten games before his season was shelved by knee surgery. Andreas Athanasiou hasn’t played since early November. Colin Blackwell is finally skating–but has yet to suit up. Jarred Tinordi was back after escaping one injury only for a concussion to knock him out again.
Of the players on the opening night roster, four forwards are either injured, sick or off the team while four defenseman are injured as well.
When it comes to the goalies—let’s just knock on wood.
Besides a team put out there to be NHL quality but not too good to evade lottery opportunities, the Blackahwks losing players at such a high clip wrecks the chemistry–none more than Anderson who had been a breath of fresh air for the Hawks upon his arrival.
With five assists in 13 games, he had one yesterday on Nick Foligno’s first goal and showed again the grind and tenacity he brought to the ice.
Now being on the IR, it won’t be seen for some time.
Options to remedy include callups from Rockford, which there are any number of intriguing options which of course includes Colton Dach. Dach would be another intriguing watch in a season that has been what many expected it to be.
Injuries certainly happen–but when it rains, it pours–especially this season for the Blackhawks.
More must-reads: