The Blackhawks finally received some offensive contributions from further down their forward depth chart Tuesday in a 4-3 win over the Kraken.
But given Corey Perry’s contract termination and Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou’s injuries, that forward depth chart is arguably a misnomer. There isn’t a lot of depth left.
General manager Kyle Davidson essentially acknowledged that fact through his actions, albeit not his words, by acquiring forward Anthony Beauvillier from the Canucks in a trade that became official during the first period.
The Hawks sent a 2024 fifth-round draft pick in exchange — a small price to pay, given the large quantity of picks they’ve accumulated over both the past and the next few seasons.
In the meantime, Boris Katchouk, Jason Dickinson, Tyler Johnson and MacKenzie Entwistle all hit the back of the net for the Hawks, who scored four goals in regulation for the first time in eight games.
Joey Anderson — who has been fantastic in all three games since getting called up from Rockford — added two assists, and Entwistle and Reese Johnson made some stout defensive plays as the Hawks killed off the Kraken’s 5-on-3 power play to protect their lead late in the third period.
“It might not have been pretty all the way through to the end, but it was definitely scrappy, and I liked the determination to get that win,” coach Luke Richardson said. “Maybe something like that can propel us.”
The Hawks won two of three games on this homestand despite the Perry controversy hanging over them. They decided to make Wednesday an off-day — rather than a practice day — before starting their three-game road trip because Richardson sensed the players were “mentally tired from the day and trying to stay focused all through this game.”
Veteran forward Nick Foligno said he was “stunned” when Davidson told the team the news about Perry earlier Tuesday.
“It’s not a day that’s easy on any of us,” Foligno said. “He’s a guy we care about. It’s a hard day. But I’m really proud of the guys for channeling [their emotions]. You can’t control some things.”
Beauvillier boost
Davidson had said Saturday he didn’t expect to make any additions right now because other teams — teams trying to contend this season — would likely be more aggressive with their offers.
But Beauvillier’s outsized salary-cap hit of $4.15 million (in the final year of his current contract) probably deterred any contenders in this case.
His presence should nonetheless provide some much-needed support to the forward corps. The 26-year-old left wing has tallied at least 28 points each of the last six seasons, including a career-high 40 points last season (18 goals and 22 assists).
He had spent his entire career with the Islanders before heading to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat blockbuster in January. But he hadn’t made a big impact so far this season, recording eight points (two goals and six assists) in 22 games. The Canucks were apparently interested in moving him to create cap flexibility, and the Hawks could easily fit him in.
The two teams executed a similar trade at the start of last season involving Jason Dickinson, and that has worked out very well for the Hawks.
“He’s definitely a little spitfire out there,” said Richardson, who coached Beauvillier on the Islanders in 2017-18.
“He can play up the lineup, [or] he can play in a working role. ... Hopefully he brings some consistency and maybe some extra scoring, which we could use right now.”
Richardson in starting lineup
Starting Nov. 19 and continuing in the past three home games, the Hawks have added an announcement of Richardson as head coach at the end of their starting-lineup introductions at the United Center.
Not many other NHL teams do that, although a few do. It’s an interesting decision. It requires a fairly established and — crucially — a popular coach, because it invites boos otherwise.
In that sense, it’s a testament to Richardson that he has become that popular in spite of the Hawks’ understandable struggles in the win-loss columns during his tenure. But just in case a few fans do boo him, he joked his name gives him some built-in immunity.
“Everywhere I played, they’d always say my name like a long, low ‘Luuuke,’” Richardson said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s good. When they start booing me, I’m just going to pretend they’re saying ‘Luke.’’”
