Barker recalled from Rockford, his salary now under cap

ST. PAUL, Minn. - It took some tinkering for the Blackhawks to fit Cam Barker's $2.7 million cap hit under the NHL's $57.6 million salary cap when the defenseman was formally recalled from Rockford on Monday.

When the Hawks reported for work Sunday morning, their payroll stood at $55.9 million, which included the $625,000 salary of Jordan Hendry and the $643,000 salary of Niklas Hjalmarsson, both of whom were assigned to Rockford.

Subtracting the combined cap hit for Hendry and Hjalmarsson, then adding Barker's left the Hawks approximately $200,000 under the league's salary cap.

Barker was assigned to Rockford to start the season when the Hawks couldn't find room for his salary, although general manager Dale Tallon at the time called it a hockey decision.

Barker had a strong start at Rockford with 3 goals and 2 assists in seven games and earned the recall when the Hawks saw a dropoff in Hendry's game from last season.

"We'll get Hendry some games down there and Barker some games up here and see how it goes," Tallon said.

The injury game: The Wild was without its best player Monday when Marian Gaborik missed his fifth straight game with what the club called a lower-body injury.

The NHL this season is allowing teams to withhold specific injury information from the media and fans in order to "protect" players, according to Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Hawks coach Joel Quennevile took advantage of the new rule last week when Brent Sopel missed the Edmonton game, saying he wasn't required to disclose why. It turned out Sopel had the flu, which apparently the Hawks didn't want the Oilers, the fans and the rest of the league to know.

According to Scotty: There's an interesting quote from Scotty Bowman, the Hawks' senior adviser, hockey operations, in this week's Sports Illustrated.

In a story written by Michael Farber, Bowman said of the Hawks' timetable for contending for the Stanley Cup: "They're two or three years away."

Tip-ins: Former Hawks captain Dirk Graham, now a scout with San Jose, watched his old team play for at least the fourth time in the last several weeks, perhaps indicating that Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren still is in play ... Tickets remain available for Friday's Halloween night game with Dallas at the United Center ... Matt Walker and Craig Adams were healthy scratches.