VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Blackhawks are used to losing players at the end of every season, either to trades or free agency. But this June, they’ll lose a player in a new way — expansion draft.
The new Las Vegas franchise, which is set to unveil its name and logo on Tuesday, will select one player from all 30 teams to build its roster for next season. Hawks general manager Stan Bowman isn’t dwelling too much on the looming draft, though.
“It’s not a huge concern of ours,” he said Saturday night in Vancouver. “I mean, we’re going to lose one payer, everybody’s going to lose one player. So it’s not like you’re going to lose four guys and it’s not like you’re going to escape without losing anybody. We are going to lose a player.”
Teams can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight overall skaters and one goalie. All players with no-movement clauses are exempt — so Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson aren’t going anywhere. And all first- and second-year pros and unsigned draft picks are exempt, so Artemi Panarin and Gustav Forsling are safe, too.
So while some teams have all sorts of possibilities, the Hawks don’t have a whole lot of flexibility. The most likely candidates to be taken are defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk or center Marcus Kruger, though rosters can change quite a bit between now and June.
“We have some flexibility,” Bowman said. “I think we’re going to be OK on that front. It’s not something that causes me a lot of stress, the expansion draft. There’s still a lot that can change. Your team as it looks today won’t be the same as it does in June, when you submit your lists. But I think some teams have a lot harder things to look at. That’s not a big issue for us.”
Motte back
Tyler Motte was expected to miss 2-3 weeks after suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 6 in Dallas. He returned after just 13 days, rejoining the team in Calgary on Friday and playing in Vancouver on Saturday.
“He worked hard, as did the staff, getting him ready,” Joel Quenneville said.
Vinnie Hinostroza (concussion) and Michal Rozsival (healthy scratch) also got back into the lineup. Gustav Forsling and Jordin Tootoo were healthy scratches.
No hard feelings
Despite the fact that he was scratched Saturday, Canucks fans already look at Forsling as potentially one that got away. The Hawks acquired Forsling from the Canucks on Jan. 29, 2015 for Adam Clendening, who lasted all of 17 games in Vancouver. Forsling was just 18, less than a year removed from being drafted in the fifth round by the Canucks.
Forsling had been to Rogers Arena before, for a prospect camp, but said it wasn’t weird to be back in a Hawks uniform.
“I didn’t expect it, but I’m happy to be in Chicago,” Forsling said. “No hard feelings.”
