Blackhawks' Victor Soderstrom: From Windy City to Beantown
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Soderstrom's NHL rights have been traded from the Blackhawks to the Bruins in exchange for Ryan Mast and a seventh-round pick, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports Friday.
Soderstrom did not play in the NHL last season, opting to play in the SHL with Brynas IF instead. During the 2024-25 campaign, the 24-year-old posted 37 points in 49 regular-season games. It remains to be seen if this move is a precursor for a return to North America with the Bruins organization, but it should be noted that he has one year left on a two-year deal with Brynas signed in September of 2024. Soderstrom has 11 points in 53 career NHL games.
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Blackhawks' Ilya Safonov: Staying in KHL
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Safonov signed a one-year contract extension with KHL club Ak Bars Kazan on Saturday, per Scott Powers of The Athletic.
Safonov had seven goals, 22 points and 22 PIM across 51 regular-season KHL outings in 2024-25. The Blackhawks control his NHL rights after selecting him with the No. 172 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, but he'll spend at least one more season out of Chicago's system.
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Blackhawks' Lukas Reichel: Suffers injury at Worlds
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Reichel, who was playing for Germany in the 2025 IIHF World Championship, will miss the remainder of the tournament due to an undisclosed injury, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports Wednesday.
Reichel had an impressive four points (one goal) in three outings before being forced to exit the tournament. His injury isn't believed to be too serious, so the 22-year-old will probably be fine for the start of Chicago's training camp. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with eight goals and 22 points across 70 outings, but he does have offensive upside, as his brief stint at Worlds demonstrated.
Dach (elbow) was reassigned to AHL Rockford on Thursday, according to Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.
Dach missed Chicago's final 13 regular-season outings due to the injury, but he's presumably healthy now based on his reassignment. The 22-year-old had two goals, seven points, 17 PIM and 86 hits across 25 appearances with Chicago as a rookie in 2024-25. He's also provided 12 goals and 26 points in 33 regular-season outings with Rockford.
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Blackhawks' AJ Spellacy: Assigned to AHL
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Spellacy was assigned to AHL Rockford on Wednesday, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reports.
Spellacy was a third-round pick by Chicago in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he spent this season with OHL Windsor. He logged 18 goals and 19 assists over 62 regular-season appearances in the OHL. He dealt with an upper-body injury for part of the team's postseason that limited him to just five playoff appearances, but he'll have a chance to contribute for Rockford in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Vanacker spent this season with OHL Brantford, totaling 24 goals, 18 assists and 36 PIM over 45 appearances. He should have a chance to see some action with the IceHogs during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Blackhawks' Artyom Levshunov: Joining minor-league club
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Levshunov was reassigned to AHL Rockford on Wednesday, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reports.
Levshunov saw action in 18 games for the Blackhawks this year, generating six assists, 21 shots and 19 hits -- though he failed to find the back of the net. Barring a disappointing training camp this fall, the 19-year-old Belarus native should be in contention for a spot on the Opening Night roster heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
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Blackhawks' Kevin Korchinski: Sent to minors
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Korchinski was reassigned to AHL Rockford on Wednesday, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.
Korchinski had a goal and an assist across 16 outings with the Blackhawks in 2024-25. Chicago's season is over, so that's why Korchinski has returned to Rockford, where he has three goals and 27 points across 54 appearances this year.
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Blackhawks' Sam Rinzel: Adds power-play assist Tuesday
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Rinzel notched a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.
Rinzel hit the ground running at the NHL level, earning five assists over his first nine games. His last three helpers came on the power play. The 20-year-old University of Minnesota product should have an inside track to an NHL job, including top-four minutes and power-play time, to begin 2025-26. Fantasy managers in redraft formats should consider him a sleeper option -- if he quarterbacks the top power-play unit, he'll get enough offense to be useful.
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Blackhawks' Oliver Moore: Provides assist Tuesday
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Moore notched an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.
Moore picked up four helpers, 10 shots on net, six hits, four PIM and a minus-2 rating over his first nine NHL appearances. The 20-year-old winger will be in contention for a roster spot in training camp this fall. Moore has some scoring potential, but it's possible he'll need a little development time at AHL Rockford in 2025-26.
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Blackhawks' Spencer Knight: Shines in season finale
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Knight saved 34 of 37 shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.
Knight was excellent Tuesday as he allowed just one goal at even strength early in the first period. After the Senators scored two power-play goals in the second period, Knight tended a clean final frame before the Blackhawks would take the win early in the extra period. Overall, the 23-year-old netminder wraps up the season with a 17-16-3 record, a 2.72 GAA and a .902 save percentage across 38 appearances. Knight posted 72 saves across his last two starts. He has one year left in his current contract, making him the safe bet to be the Opening Night starter for Chicago next season.
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Blackhawks' Frank Nazar: Nets OT winner
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Nazar scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over Ottawa.
Nazar found the back of the net for the game-winning goal just 48 seconds into the extra period. Nazar used the feed from Connor Bedard to score his second game-winning goal of the season. Overall, the 21-year-old Nazar is up to 12 goals, 26 points and 91 shots on net in 53 games this season. Nazar took a large step forward offensively down the stretch with 10 points over his last 11 games. His recent stretch of play makes him a strong option to open the season as Chicago's full-time center on the second line. Look for him to be a breakout candidate during the 2025-26 season.
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Blackhawks' Joe Veleno: Finds twine Tuesday
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Veleno scored a goal and put two shots on net in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.
Veleno lit the lamp for Chicago's second goal of the contest just over six minutes into the first period. Overall, the 25-year-old center posted eight goals, 17 points, 139 hits and 75 shots on net in 74 games this season. Veleno's first 18 games with the Blackhawks saw him raise his play offensively with three goals and seven points in that span. He wrapped up the season with back-to-back games with a point and was a bright spot down the stretch on the Blackhawks' fourth line. He is signed through next season and should challenge for a middle-six role to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
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Blackhawks' Connor Bedard: Grabs three points Tuesday
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Bedard scored two goals, including one on a power-play, and tallied the game-winning assist in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Senators.
Bedard was the hero in Chicago's season finale with a three-point night. He tallied the first goal of the game just 88 seconds into the first period before he later tallied a power-play goal in the second period. He capped off Tuesday's performance with the game-winning assist on Frank Nazar's winning goal just 48 seconds into overtime. The 19-year-old Bedard finishes the regular season with 23 goals, 44 assists and 195 shots on net in 82 games this season. The rising star saw a slight reduction in points per game and shots on goal this season. However, his durability in his sophomore season helped him reach a new career high of 67 points, with 15 of those points coming in his last 15 games. With the addition of Spencer Knight and the emergence of linemate Ryan Donato, Bedard is already in an improved situation for the start of the 2025-26 season.
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