Hawks' Tyler Johnson not quite ready to return
While Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson continues to practice, interim coach Derek King still isn't comfortable putting the veteran into a game just yet.
Johnson was injured Oct. 29 on a cross-check by Carolina's Vincent Trocheck and underwent neck surgery Dec. 3. Johnson, who was expected to miss three months, has been ramping up his participation in practice over the past couple weeks.
Johnson had artificial disk replacement surgery, a procedure also performed on Vegas' Jack Eichel this season. Eichel's surgery was done Nov. 12 and he returned to game action Feb. 16.
"I could throw him to the wolves tomorrow (against New Jersey) and keep my fingers crossed on the bench that hopefully I didn't make the wrong decision and hurt the guy," King said after the Hawks practiced Thursday at Fifth Third Arena. "I've got to make sure I feel comfortable enough that I think his conditioning is where it should be and his head is where it should be. And we have to do the right thing for the team."
The Hawks acquired Johnson and a second-round pick for the rights to Brent Seabrook July 27. Johnson's contract, which carries a $5 million cap hit, runs through the 2023-24 season.
Johnson was expected to be a consistent scorer and help on the power play. The Hawks were 9-for-34 (26.5%) on the man advantage in Johnson's eight games; they are 22-for-126 (17.5%) since then.
Whenever Johnson returns, expect him to reprise his bumper (middle) role on the top power play unit and to possibly center one of the top two lines.
King said he'll green-light Johnson when he sees more confidence and speed at practice.
"He just seems maybe that extra step (off)," King said. "If you're not ready to play at this level - if you're just a little out of shape or you're just not quite (there) - you can get hurt again. ...
"Any player you talk to is going to tell you, 'I'm ready. Put me in.'
"But we gotta be 100 percent sure on this one."
Line shuffling
Derek King moved Alex DeBrincat back to the top line with Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome at Thursday's practice.
"(Kane and DeBrincat) are pretty dynamic and they work well together," King said. "And I like the way Stromer's been playing as of late, so hopefully those guys can give us some offense."
Lukas Reichel, who will likely play in his third straight game when the Hawks host the Devils on Friday, centered the second line with Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Hagel.
Kirby Dach was centering Philipp Kurashev and Henrik Borgstrom on the third line.
GM update:
CEO Danny Wirtz, through the team's Twitter account, said the Hawks' advisory committee (Eddie Olcyzk, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp) "has concluded its evaluation with General Manager candidates and provided input to leadership. The leadership team is moving to the next step of the process."
The six candidates interviewed were interim GM Kyle Davidson, Eric Tulsky, Scott Mellanby, Peter Chiarelli, Mathieu Darche and Jeff Greenberg.
He said it:
"You saw the guy almost heaved him into the stands. Souvenir for the fan (who) walked off with him - instead of his stick. 'We just go Reichel off a game here.' "
- Derek King, joking about the hit by Dallas' Jani Hakanpaa that sent Lukas Reichel into the Stars' bench Sunday
Slap shots
Defenseman Jake McCabe (back) will not play Friday against New Jersey. ... Derek King said forward Reese Johnson and defenseman Riley Stillman could return "in a couple of weeks." Both players worked out before practice Thursday. ... Jonathan Toews remains in concussion protocol and did not practice.