Dale Weise struggling to adapt to smaller role in Chicago

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Dale Weise was the goal-scoring, havoc-wreaking, playoff-tested rising star the Blackhawks needed at the trade deadline. But his first month with the Hawks has been underwhelming, and Weise is as surprised — and as frustrated — as anybody.

Weise has just one assist in 10 games with the Hawks entering Friday’s game at Winnipeg, averaging less than 10 minutes a night. He had been a healthy scratch two of the last three games.

“I probably played close to four or five minutes more in Montreal,” Weise said. “I played power play, I played penalty kill, I played quite a bit there. So obviously coming here has been a real adjustment. And being in and out of the lineup is obviously not an easy thing to do. To say it hasn’t gone as well as planned, obviously would be an understatement.”

Weise had 14 goals and 12 assists in 56 games with the Montreal Canadiens. And while Tomas Fleischmann — who came to Chicago in the same trade — has flourished with the Hawks, scoring four goals and earning a spot on the top line in Marian Hossa’s absence Friday night, Weise has had more trouble adapting to Joel Quenneville’s system.

As other players in the past have found out, coming to Chicago isn’t always easy. Quenneville doesn’t hold a lot of practices, and he doesn’t have much patience for in-game growing pains.

“We don’t practice a lot, so I’m still trying to pick up the system,” Weise said. “And when you’re not in the lineup, it’s tough to get into a rhythm like that. The more you can actually play it in the game, the easier it becomes. It becomes natural for you, right? You’re not thinking, ‘I need to be here, I need to do this, I need to do that.’ You can do it in practice, but you really need some game reps to really get a feel for that. I’m still working through that.”

Quenneville acknowledged that Weise is adapting to a smaller role in Chicago than he had in Montreal. He suggested Weise is pressing a bit because of his goal drought, and that once he finally finds the back of the net, everything will come easier for him.

Of course, it’s the playoffs where Weise has made his name, with an overtime winner in each of the past two postseasons, along with his memorable series with Boston last year, when he crawled underneath Milan Lucic’s skin.

With the postseason less than two weeks away, Weise thinks the best is yet to come.

“I’m just trying to do what I can,” he said. “As for the playoffs, hopefully I can do what I did in the past. I’ve had a lot of success there. Hopefully I can bring that here.”

NOTES: Corey Crawford still hasn’t skated, but could return to the ice on Saturday (on his own, not with the team). Marian Hossa is out with an illness, and Artem Anisimov (lower-body injury) and Brent Seabrook (sick) will be back in the lineup. Duncan Keith waived his right to an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his stick-swinging incident Tuesday in Minnesota, and will have a phone hearing Friday afternoon. A decision on how long his suspension will be is expected this evening.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com

Twitter: @marklazerus