Kurashev was injured in the Blackhawks' preseason back on September 28th and has been placed on the injured reserve retroactive to that date with a left wrist injury. The 23-year-old forward is expected to be out indefinitely to start the season after collecting nine goals, 16 assists, 116 SOG, 14 PIMs, and a -32 plus/minus in 70 games with Chicago in 2022-23.
Soderblom was 2-10-2 with a .894 SV% and a 3.45 GAA in 15 games played with Chicago in 2022-23 and will start their second game of the season Wednesday vs. Boston. The Bruins are coming off a historic season that saw them finish with 135 points and second in the NHL in goals per game (301). The Blackhawks are coming off a 4-2 victory over Pittsburgh from opening night Tuesday and will be hoping to remain in the win column.
Knight will look to regain his form while playing regularly with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Last season, Knight played only 21 games for the Panthers before entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in February posting a 9-8-3 record with a .901 SV% and 3.18 GAA. Anthony Stolarz will serve as Sergei Bobrovsky's backup to start the season.
Kurashev is expected to resume skating this week, but the Blackhawks said it's possible he's not ready for the start of the regular season. They should have a better idea of where he's at later in the week. Kurashev is expected to start the season in the Blackhawks' top-6 on a line with Lukas Reichel and Andreas Athanasiou.
Savoie was Chicago's 2022 third-round pick (81st overall) and will be out indefinitely after undergoing successful surgery on his right femur. The 19-year-old forward was competing for a roster spot during the preseason after a 26-goal, 33 assists, 90 PIM, and +30 plus/minus season across 60 games played with Gatineau (QMJHL) in 2022-23. He is expected to return to Gatineau for the 2023-24 season once announced as healthy.
Veleno had nine goals, 11 assists, 30 PIMs, 85 SOG, and a -12 plus/minus through 81 games with the Red Wings in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $825,000 extension Wednesday. The 23-year-old was Detroit's 2018 first-round pick (30th overall) and has picked up 18 goals, 36 points, and 166 SOG through 152 career NHL games across three seasons.
Savoie had 26 goals, 33 assists, 90 PIMs and a +30 plus/minus through 60 games with Gatineau (QMJHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract worth $878,333 AAV. The 19-year-old forward was Chicago's 2022 third-round draft pick (81st overall) and is expected to return to Gatineau for his fourth junior season in 2023-24.
Kurashev had nine goals, 16 assists, 116 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -32 plus/minus through 70 games played with Chicago in 2022-23 and has been awarded a two-year, $4.5 million contract extension ($2,250,000 AAV) by an arbitrator. The 23-year-old centre enters his fourth season in Chicago after being drafted in the fourth-round of the 2018 draft (120th overall) and has 23 goals and 62 points across 191 career NHL games played.
Bedard was selected with the first-overall pick of the 2023 draft and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract on his 18th birthday. The generationally talented centre is coming off a historic season in the WHL which saw his score 71 goals and 143 points across 57 regular season games.
Sanford had two goals, one assist, 20 SOG, four PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 16 games with Nashville in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Arizona. The 28-year-old left winger brings 49 goals and 49 assists and 138 PIMs across 305 career NHL games to the Coyotes and should played a bottom-six role for the team throughout the season.
Bertuzzi had eight goals, 22 assists, 107 SOG, 29 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 50 games with both Boston and Detroit in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year deal with Toronto worth $5.5 million. The 28-year-old left-winger joins the Maple Leafs' with 92 goals and 218 points through 326 career NHL games.
Brossoit was 7-0-3 with a 2.17 GAA and .927 SV% with Vegas in 2022-23 and has returned to Winnipeg on a one-year contract worth $1.75 million. The 30-year-old net minder was Calgary's sixth round pick (164th overall) in 2011 and has a 49-41-11 record, with a 2.78 GAA and .908 SV% across 117 GP throughout his career.
Donato had 14 goals, 13 assists, 122 SOG, 46 PIMs and a +16 plus/minus through 71 games with Seattle in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year contract worth $4.0 million ($2,000,000 AAV). The 27-year-old centre joins his fifth team in seven NHL seasons and has 65 goals, 70 assists, and 116 PIMs through 325 career NHL games.
The Blackhawks acquired the rights to Foligno from the Boston Bruins along with Taylor Hall on Monday and signed the veteran winger to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Foligno doesn't pack the same offensive punch he once did in Columbus but is a terrific veteran presence for a Blackhawks team going through a transitional period. Foligno had 26 points (10G / 16A) in 60 games with the Bruins in 2022-23.
Foligno had 10 goals, 16 assists, 71 SOG, 45 PIMs, a +18 plus/minus through 60 games with Boston in 2022-23 and has had his rights traded alongside Taylor Hall to Chicago for the rights to Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula. If the 35-year-old left-winger is to sign with the Blackhawks, he will enter his 17th season with his fifth NHL team having collected 215 goals and 525 points across 1081 career games played.
Anderson had six goals, three assists, 41 SOG, and a -8 plus/minus through 38 games played with Toronto and Chicago in 2022-23 as has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension ($800,000 AAV) through 2023-24 with Chicago. The 25-year-old right-winger was acquired near the trade deadline by Chicago in a deal that brought Jake McCabe to Toronto and has 22 career points (14G/8A) across 96 NHL games played.
Räty was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and signed with Arizona after spending the last four seasons in Finland. The 21-year-old winger had 42 points (18G / 24A) in 53 games with Ilves Tampere (Liiga).
Commesso was a second-round pick (No.46 overall) in 2020. The 20-year-old netminder went 24-8-0 with a 2.46 GAA and .913 SV% in 34 games in his senior season with Boston University.
