Blackhawks claim Stanley Cup-winning forward off waivers amid stretch of poor injury luck

As the injury bug continues to strike, the Blackhawks have turned to the waiver wire.  As first reported by PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, Chicago has claimed forward Zach Sanford off waivers from Arizona.

The 29-year-old was waived by Arizona on Friday.  He has played in 11 games since being recalled in December, picking up a pair of points along with eight blocks and four hits while logging a little over nine minutes a night on the fourth line.

Sanford is a veteran of more than 300 career NHL games but has bounced around a lot lately, spending time with St. Louis, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Nashville and Arizona since 2021.  At his best, he was a capable third-line power forward but in recent seasons, he has settled in as a recallable veteran when needed.  Sanford has spent most of this season with AHL Tucson after inking a one-year, two-way deal with the Coyotes over the summer, picking up a goal and three assists in 16 games.

While on the surface, this might seem like a puzzling claim for a rebuilding team to make, Chicago now has eight forwards on injured reserve.  After making several recalls from AHL Rockford, they also picked up Rem Pitlick in a trade from Pittsburgh earlier Saturday and are now adding Sanford merely to get to 12 healthy forwards on the active roster.  It stands to reason that Sanford could be back on the wire once some of these players come back but for now, his stay in the NHL will last at least a little while longer.