Hawks coach Quenneville won’t slam door on Carcillo’s return

Daniel Carcillo is done for the season with a blown-out left knee, but to say he has played his last game for the Blackhawks is way too premature.

Because he signed a one-year contract last July, Carcillo will be an unrestricted free agent again next summer, but Hawks coach Joel Quenneville sounds as if he would welcome the winger back if that’s what the organization decides.

“We’ll talk about a lot of things at the end of the year,” Quenneville said. “That will be part of the equation, but Danny didn’t hurt himself.”

Carcillo played in only 28 games with 2 goals and 9 assists. He was plus-10 with 82 penalty minutes and second on the club in hits with 76.

He was also suspended for 11 games, although he was injured for seven of them.

Despite what Carcillo’s critics might think, Quenneville liked what he saw from the veteran winger in his first season with the Hawks.

“I thought he had a very good year,” Quenneville said. “In a role with limited time, I thought he did a great job and fulfilled the job description very well. He provided the toughness we were looking for, had some skill, complemented top players.

“I think when you look at what we were looking for in the off-season, I thought he did exactly what we were looking for.”

Carcillo will undergo left knee surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ACL. Recovery time from the surgery will be six months.

Team toughness:Joel Quenneville doesn#146;t consider rookie Andrew Shaw as someone who is going to replace the things the injured Daniel Carcillo did.#147;I think Danny is bigger and stronger in that role,#148; Quenneville said. #147;I still think (Shaw) can bring energy to his line and to our team. I think he#146;s smart in how he plays the game.#148;Shaw played on the second line with Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa on Sunday against the Sharks and scored another goal in the Hawks#146; 4-3 win. Shaw has 4 goals in seven games since coming up from Rockford.#147;I#146;m just doing what I can to stay here,#148; Shaw said.As far as replacing what Carcillo did, Quenneville wants it to be a team effort.#147;When we check well and all four lines are rolling and everybody doing the same thing, I think there#146;s enough there,#148; Quenneville said.On the mend:Patrick Sharp is progressing on schedule from the broken left wrist he suffered Jan. 8 against Detroit. The original diagnosis called for Sharp missing 3-4 weeks.#147;Things are progressing on course,#148; Joel Quenneville said. #147;He feels all right.#148;For the record:Daniel Carcillo#146;s seven-game suspension is over.Even though Carcillo was injured, he was able to serve the suspension because the Hawks kept him on the active roster. Now that the suspension has been served, expect Carcillo to go on injured reserve this week.