The Chicago Blackhawks have finalized their roster for the first day of the 2017-18 season by sending Alex DeBrincat, Gustav Forsling, and J.F. Berube to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The team also placed forward Jordin Tootoo on long-term injured reserve in an unexpected twist.
Now you might be wondering why DeBrincat and Forsling were reassigned if they supposedly made the Blackhawks out of training camp. The answer is that these moves are a bunch of paperwork designed to maximize the cap space flexibility that will afforded by placing Marian Hossa on long-term injured reserve.