Chicago Blackhawks send Dano, 7 others to Rockford

It was a tough day for many players Friday as the Blackhawks made some difficult decisions with the regular-season opener just days away.

The biggest news involved veteran Bryan Bickell and the dynamic, but still raw, Marko Dano.

Bickell, who carries a $4 million salary cap hit this year and next, was placed on waivers. If no team claims him by Saturday morning, he may be headed to Rockford, in which case the Hawks would save $950,000 against the cap.

Bickell has been suffering from vertigo and admitted during training camp that it still affects him at times. Coach Joel Quenneville, however, said Bickell is “fine.”

Quenneville was asked if, assuming he clears waivers, Bickell would still be on the Hawks' roster.

The coach wouldn't give a definite yes or no but told reporters that the team will have more to say Saturday and that “there's a decision or two that (still) has to be made.”

Obviously, Bickell wasn't happy with the news.

“It's not easily accepted,” Quenneville said. “At the same time, it's the salary-cap era. You've got to do some tough things.”

Dano, the 20-year-old winger who wowed fans in the opening days of training camp at Notre Dame, was among eight players who the Blackhawks reassigned to Rockford on Friday.

Dano came to the Hawks in the Brandon Saad trade and had instant chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa at Notre Dame, but Joel Quenneville and his staff have decided to start him in the AHL.

“He's a young player,” Quenneville said. “We made some decisions here today to get down to the number. With him, he had a decent camp. I thought he was ordinary in a couple of games. … Just want him playing.”

The seven other players reassigned were forwards Ryan Hartman, Vincent Hinostroza, Brandon Mashinter, Dennis Rasmussen and Garret Ross, and defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Ville Pokka.

Quenneville said plenty of those players were “in the same boat” as Dano and the coach expects some of them to make contributions during the 82-game grind.

“It's not like it's punishment,” he said. “It's not like we don't like these players. We like our depth. We think that the young kids will come along at the right rate.

“Eventually you're gonna get an opportunity, be it your play or injuries or somebody else's play up here.”

Those moves mean that forwards Viktor Tikhonov and Ryan Baun, and defenseman Viktor Svedberg are all on the team — for now.

The news on Bickell isn't totally unexpected as it's no secret that the Hawks would love to move his $4 million cap hit. The 29-year-old forward, who signed a four-year, $16 million deal before the 2013-14 season, has just 25 goals and 18 assists the last two seasons.

Previously known as a big-time playoff performer (he had 16 combined goals in the 2013 and '14 postseasons), Bickell failed to score in 18 playoff games last spring.

If the Hawks assign Bickell to Rockford, it could open up a roster spot, so stay tuned on that front.

After practice, teammates reacted to the news about Bickell, which they had received either on the ice or from the media.

“That's always tough to see that happen,” said Marcus Kruger. “As long as I've been here, he's been huge. He's good on the ice and a great teammate, too. Sorry to see that.”

Said Patrick Kane: “We can give as many opinions and speculations as we want, but that's not really our job. We'll leave that explanation up to the hockey ops and Stan Bowman. …

“He had some big-time performances for us and sometimes on a day like this, you're kind of hoping no one will pick him up.”

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