Dec. 18--The Blackhawks will have to get by for the next four months without one of their best penalty killers.
Center Marcus Kruger underwent surgery Friday to repair a dislocated left wrist, team physician Michael Terry said in a statement. Kruger can resume hockey activities in four months, Terry said.
Kruger had yet to score this season but is one of the Hawks' best defensive forwards and helps keep other teams' top scoring threats in check. He is also essential to the Hawks' penalty kill, which ranked 11th in the NHL entering Friday.
Kruger was injured after he slid into the boards during the second period of the Hawks' 4-0 victory over the Oilers on Thursday. He skated off the ice, went to the dressing room for further evaluation and did not return.
To help replace Kruger, the Hawks recalled center Phillip Danault from Rockford.
Kruger helped the salary-cap-strapped Hawks in the offseason by waiting to sign a new deal as an unrestricted free agent until they could clear the necessary cap space to bring him back. He signed a team-friendly one-year, $1.5 million contract that helped the Hawks stay under the cap while keeping an important contributor to their last two Stanley Cup runs.
The timetable for Kruger's return poses an interesting scenario for the Hawks.
Last season, the Hawks placed winger Patrick Kane on injured reserve after Kane broke his left collarbone in February. Kane was out for the rest of the regular season, and per NHL rules, the Hawks were able to go over the cap by the amount of Kane's salary to make deals for Antoine Vermette, Andrew Desjardins and Kimmo Timonen. There is no salary cap in the playoffs, so when Kane returned for the postseason, the Hawks were able to keep everyone on the roster.
The end of the regular season is a little more than four months away. Kruger has yet to go on injured reserve, but that is a formality at this point. The Hawks might be able to take advantage of Kruger's injury to deal for or recall players they might not have if Kruger was healthy.
But if Kruger is back in four months, he would return before the end of the regular season, and the cap space the Hawks would gain would be temporary.
