The Chicago Blackhawks are putting the finishing touches on their roster for the 2014-15 season, and after practice on Tuesday, head coach Joel Quenneville revealed that the team will indeed carry 23 players to start the year:
Cumiskey and van Riemsdyk are making the team. Quenneville said they are under the cap. — Scott Powers (@ESPNChiPowers) October 7, 2014
According to CapGeek, the Blackhawks are $50,000 over the salary cap with 23 players (including defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk), but according to Quenneville, the team will actually begin the year under the cap. There were some tough choices that had to be made, including trading away Nick Leddy and sending down Peter Regin and Teuvo Teravainen, but despite those obstacles, the team will be ready to go when the puck drops on Thursday in Dallas.
Here are the 23 players that will be on the Hawks’ roster:
Forwards (13)
Bryan Bickell, Daniel Carcillo, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Marcus Kruger, Jeremy Morin, Brad Richards, Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw, Ben Smith, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg
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Defensemen (8)
Kyle Cumiskey, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Johnny Oduya, Michal Rozsival, David Rundblad, Brent Seabrook, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders (2)
Corey Crawford, Antti Raanta
The season will get going on Thursday night as the Hawks travel to Dallas to take on the Stars. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game can be seen on CSN Chicago.