Blackhawks reassign Dano to minors, reportedly place Bickell on waivers
The Chicago Blackhawks assigned Marko Dano to their American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford on Friday, in a move that's taken many by surprise.
Wow, Marko Dano among 8 Chicago cuts to AHL. Heard he was struggling to keep up on a line with Toews and Hossa. This was unexpected.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) October 2, 2015
Dano was waiver-exempt and figured to be a lock to crack Chicago's opening-night lineup.
Artemi Panarin and Viktor Tikhonov, who spent last several seasons in the KHL, appear to have made #blackhawks opening night roster.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 2, 2015
The Blackhawks also placed forward Bryan Bickell on waivers, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
Bickell had 14 goals and 14 assists in 80 games last season, while playing slightly over 12 minutes a night. However, he's under contract at a cap hit of $4 million through 2016-17, as Chicago's cap troubles continue.
"We have a lot of business decisions to make," head coach Joel Quenneville said Friday.
Dano, 20, was the 27th pick in the 2013 draft, selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was sent to Chicago as part of the Brandon Saad trade over the summer.
The Austrian had eight goals and 13 assists in 35 games with Columbus last season.