Blackhawks Make a Move But It’s on the Waiver Wire

The 31-year-old defenseman has two games in the AHL this season, potting a goal. But he hasn’t made an NHL appearance until what could likely be one with the Blackhawks.

But this opens up a host of other questions in spite of answering one about layering the roster depth with some more veterans.

Blackhawks Solve One Issue–But Questions Remain

It’s true that scoring goals has been an issue–especially with defenseman only notching five all season long. Kevin Korchinski has two while Nikita Zaitsev, Alex Vlasic, and Connor Murphy have one apiece. But it begs a few more questions.

First, is this a clue that some injuries may take longer to recover from? Could it be they want some more veterans on the backend instead of leaving the blueline with younger players?

What about up front? Losing Tyler Johnson took the Blackhawks third highest scorer out of the lineup. Is the move to grab Megna a sign of things to come up front? The reaction to Phil Kessel has been a mixed one–some claiming he’s past his prime while others would like to see the long time veteran on a line–potentially with Connor Bedard. Kessel had 14 goals last season in Vegas, but it isn’t exactly the vintage version that had a nose for the net.

Megna has 141 NHL games to his name but he’s here for depth, likely not long-term help. It’s clearer that the Blackhawks are going to push through this rash of injuries without changing things up too much.

This points to the expected strategy of making sure there’s a team–but not falling too far out of having a great chance of getting the top pick again. The San Jose Sharks are currently on a nine-game losing streak–so they’re gunning for the 25% odds at the top spot as well.

This solves a short term solution. But if injuries continue to pile up, Davidson and company are going to be forced to figure something out that might take more than the waiver wire.