The Chicago Blackhawks made a pair of roster moves involving defensemen on Saturday. The team placed Seth Jones on injured reserve (retroactive to Dec. 10) due to an upper-body injury and recalled Wyatt Kaiser from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Jones has missed Chicago's last two games due to his upper-body issue. He has 11 assists and leads Blackhawks' skaters with an average ice time of 25:25 through 25 games. Alas, his absence will loom large on the blue line.
Kaiser rejoins the Blackhawks due to several injuries and absences among defensemen. Jones, Kevin Korchinski (personal, on non-roster), and Jarred Tinordi (concussion, on injured reserve) are all sidelined. Additionally, Alex Vlasic (upper body, day-to-day) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Kaiser began the season with the Blackhawks and logged four assists in 21 contests. After a tough stretch of games in late November, he was assigned to Rockford in early December. Kaiser hasn't found the score sheet in five games with the IceHogs.
With Vlasic's status in question, Kaiser could return to Chicago's lineup on Sunday. Puck drop between the Blackhawks and Canucks is at 2 PM CT and the game will air on NBC Sports Chicago.
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