Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks missed Marcus Kruger for multiple months due to a wrist injury. When he finally returned toward the back end of the season, there were questions about how he’d slot into the lineup with Phillip Danault more or less taking over his spot, and faring pretty well in doing so.
That was answered quickly when Danault was shipped to Montreal in a trade-deadline deal. Thankfully (he said sarcastically), we get to go through this process again this season. Kruger has been sidelined since the start of the new year with an upper-body injury, and he’s been skating a bit more of late, therefore getting closer to a return.