Hawks send Raanta, Hartman down; extend Darling

Hours after the Blackhawks' 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday at the United Center, the team announced some curious transactions.

Backup goalie Antti Raanta and rookie forward Ryan Hartman were sent to the Rockford IceHogs, while forward Joakim Nordstrom and goalie Scott Darling were recalled. It was announced later that Darling, 26, had signed a two-year contract extension that lasts through the 2016-17 season.

According to NHLNumbers.com the Hawks had $1.2 million of salary-cap space before the moves, which bought them roughly another $400,000. Terms of Darling's two-year extension were not released, but the new contract doesn't kick in until next season.

The moves were surprising because of Raanta, 25, who signed a cap-friendly, two-year extension as a restricted free agent last off-season. Raanta, who allowed 2 goals on 16 shots in relief of starter Corey Crawford on Sunday, is 7-4-1 with a shutout, 1.89 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.

The Finnish goalie is listed at 6-foot, 193-pounds, which is significantly smaller than 6-6, 232-pound Darling, who went 5-2-0 with a 1.97 GAA and .937 save percentage in seven games with the Blackhawks earlier this season.

The move has prompted speculation that a trade might be close. The Hawks have eight defensemen, but could use an established veteran for a third pairing that's been a mixed bag of youngsters teamed with 36-year old Michael Rozsival.

Darling, from Lemont, made a strong impression during training camp and in preseason games. He also shined in most of his outings filling in during Crawford's two injury stints.

Darling played last season with the Milwaukee Admirals and went 13-6-2. Six of his wins were shutouts. He signed in the off-season with the Hawks, his hometown team, and has gone 14-8-2 with 2 shutouts, a 2.20 GAA and .927 save percentage for the IceHogs. Darling has also spent time with Cincinnati, Wheeling and Florida in the ECHL, after being drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the sixth round of the 2007 NHL draft.

The 20-year old Hartman, originally from West Dundee, made his NHL debut and played five games without registering a point.

What meeting?

Following Sunday's game, the Blackhawks' locker room didn't open to media for an extended period.

Once reporters entered, most of the Hawks were still at their locker stalls wearing most of their equipment. That sparked questions about whether a team meeting had taken place.

“No, we just lost the game,” Patrick Kane said. “Kind of move on from it, and what happens in here is internal and we'll keep it at that.”

Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was more succinct, saying, “Not really,” when asked about a meeting.

Oduya could miss time:

Defenseman Johnny Oduya left after his first shift and didn't return. Coach Joel Quenneville said he has an upper-body injury and would be re-assessed Monday.

“We'll see how he is,” Quenneville said. “Might miss a few games.”

The Hawks have eight defensemen on the roster and rookie Trevor van Riemsdyk is making strides in his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured kneecap.

Lineup shakeup:

Joel Quenneville started the game with a number of lineup changes, including the re-insertion of forward Daniel Carcillo for struggling Ben Smith. He also sat defenseman Kyle Cumiskey in favor of David Rundblad, and jumbled the forward lines and defense pairings.

None of it worked.

“I don't think I was happy with anybody today,” Quenneville said.