The Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Wyatt Kaiser to AHL Rockford, Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports reports Monday. This leaves the Blackhawks with only six healthy defenders, suggesting Connor Murphy may be ready to come off injured reserve before Wednesday’s game against the Blues.
Kaiser, 21, has looked promising when given NHL minutes this season. He’s goalless through 32 games but has seven assists, 46 blocks, and only slightly below-average possession metrics on a badly understaffed Chicago blue line. The Minnesota native has largely been limited to bottom-pairing minutes, averaging 17:19 on the season, but had seen over 20 minutes of ice time in three of his last five outings.
He made the team out of camp but was assigned to Rockford in early December, where he remained for most of the season aside from a brief emergency loan later that month. Chicago brought him back a few weeks ago, playing him in each of their last nine games. The left-shot defender has been decent on the farm, where he has three goals and 15 points in 31 games.
A strong skater and good outlet passer, he’s done enough to put himself in consideration for an opening-night job again this fall. He has one season left on his entry-level contract, which carries a $917K cap hit, and will be an RFA in 2025.
Murphy looks to return after missing the last two and a half months with osteitis pubis, the same inflammatory groin issue that sidelined Sharks captain Logan Couture for all but six games this season. The 31-year-old told NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis last week that being “a part of the solution” has pushed him to close out the season back in the lineup. The veteran shutdown man complemented his eight points in 43 games with some of the team’s better possession numbers prior to exiting the lineup in January, posting a 44.4 CF% and -7.4 expected rating.