NEWSLETTER
Only 45 minutes prior to puck drop tonight between the Blackhawks and Coyotes in Arizona, the Blackhawks have made a number of roster moves, including placing three players on COVID protocol.
Brandon Hagel, Erik Gustafsson, and newly acquired Sam Lafferty have been placed on COVID protocol. In response, the Blackhawks have activated Nicolas Beaudin off of the Taxi Squad, recalled Ian Mitchell and Mike Hardman from the Rockford IceHogs, and recalled Kurtis Gabriel, Jakub Galvas, and Josiah Slavin from the IceHogs to the Taxi Squad.
Slew of #Blackhawks moves ahead of tonight’s game:
• Hagel, Lafferty & Gustafsson in COVID protocol
• Hardman & Mitchell recalled to active roster from RFD
• Beaudin to active roster from taxi squad
• Gabriel, Galvas & Slavin to taxi squad from RFDhttps://t.co/GEYUaXacfO
— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) January 7, 2022
Hagel has 16 points in 30 games this season for the Blackhawks, good for fourth on the team. He is also second on the team with eight goals this season, trailing only Alex DeBrincat’s 20 goals.
Gustafsson is second on the team for points by a defenseman this season with seven in 30 games. He trails Seth Jones, who leads all defensemen with 25 points in 33 games.
With the moves being made less than an hour before puck drop, the Blackhawks will likely go with 11 forwards and seven defenseman for their game against the Coyotes, dressing Beaudin as the seventh defenseman.
Beaudin has skated in just one game with the Blackhawks this season, playing most of the year with the Rockford IceHogs. He has six points, all assists, in 22 AHL games this season.
