Coach Joel Quenneville said the Blackhawks had some decisions to make “for cap purposes.” A few hours later they made those moves, and they all involved defensemen.
The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Ville Pokka from the Rockford IceHogs, assigned Viktor Svedberg to Rockford and placed Michal Rozsival on long-term injured reserve. Pokka carries a cap hit of $925,000. But reassigning Svedberg ($575,000) as well as moving Rozsival and his $600,000 cap hit to LTIR – which means he’s out for at least 24 days and 10 games – gives the Blackhawks some wiggle room.
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All NHL rosters had to be finalized and cap compliant by 4 p.