Feb. 17--Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Rob Scuderi cleared waivers Wednesday and will report to the Hawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford, coach Joel Quenneville said.
The move helped the Hawks create additional salary-cap space -- $950,000 to be exact -- before the Feb. 29 trade deadline.
"Organizationally, we have some business decisions to make, player decisions so he's going to go Rockford," Quenneville said after the Hawks' morning skate at Madison Square Garden in preparation for Wednesday's game against the Rangers. "(Scuderi) gives us some experience and some depth in that position. We maintain that so that's part of the process of going forward with the number of defense we have organizationally. Things change quickly in our business so we'll see what happens."
The Hawks traded defenseman Trevor Daley to the Penguins for Scuderi in December but Scuderi has been a healthy scratch in six of the last seven games for the Hawks. As part of the trade with the Penguins, the Penguins retained one third of Scuderi's $3.375 million cap hit, meaning the Hawks were on the hook for $2.25 million. Scuderi has played in 17 games for the Hawks since joining the organization and is a minus-6 in those games.
With more cap space now available, the Hawks could be maneuvering for a trade.
"Stan (Bowman) is always looking for ways we can improve our hockey team," Quenneville said. "We'll see what happens between now and then."
When asked where the Hawks could use a boost via trade, Quenneville indicated a need for a forward.
"I think up front we could use a player or two," Quenneville said.
Chris Kuc contributed to this report.
