Golden Knights pull van Riemsdyk from Blackhawks' roster
As expected, the Vegas Golden Knights selected defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk off the Blackhawks' roster during the NHL expansion draft Wednesday.
TSN had reported that the Golden Knights were also going to trade for center Marcus Kruger, but Marian Hossa's announcement that he would miss the 2017-18 season apparently nixed that deal - for now anyway.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old van Riemsdyk impressed coach Joel Quenneville and his staff during the 2014-15 training camp, earned a spot on the team and became a mainstay in the rotation when he was healthy. Mostly paired with veteran Brian Campbell last season, van Riemsdyk scored 5 goals and had 11 assists in 58 games last season.
"He's a great player," Campbell said in March. "It's been a lot of fun playing with him. He's easy to play with; he makes a lot of great, simple plays. I find he's always open for me. …
"Plus he wants to learn (and) he wants to get better, which is what you want from a 25-year-old kid out there. … The sky's the limit for him."
It will be interesting to see what the Hawks do with Kruger, who carries a pricey $3.083 million cap hit. Kruger is a solid bottom-six center and a mainstay on the penalty kill, but he also averages just a goal every 12 games.
If the Hawks trade Kruger, they'll likely have about $6 million to spend when free agency opens on July 1.
Another sad story:
Tom Reid, who began his career with the Blackhawks but mostly played with the Minnesota North Stars from 1969-78, had to retire from the NHL from a skin condition that may be similar to what Marian Hossa is suffering from.
Reid's rash started as the size of a quarter on his left arm, but eventually went from his torso all the way to his neck. Over the course of three years, it became "a bloody, pussy-type liquid that was being secreted all the time."
He would wrap towels around the rash, but when the towels were removed the wound reopened.
Reid, who is now a color analyst for the Minnesota Wild, retired when the struggling team started calling for two-a-day practices.
"It got to the point that after three years I would be in the hospital for 10, 12 days trying to combat it," Reid told WSCR 670-AM. "I'd play for a couple more weeks and it would come right back again. ... They said if we continue to give you the steroid and the cortisone shot … you'll be dead by the time you're 40. So it didn't take long for me to figure that one out."
Season opener:
The NHL announced Wednesday that the Blackhawks will open the 2017-18 regular season against the defending-champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 5 at the United Center at 7:30 p.m. The entire schedule will be released Thursday at noon.