Blackhawks Send Bryan Bickell To AHL Rockford, Recall Marko Dano
(CBS) The Blackhawks have assigned much-maligned forward Bryan Bickell to AHL Rockford, they announced Monday morning.
In a corresponding move, Chicago recalled promising 20-year-old forward Marko Dano from Rockford.
Bickell, 29, has zero points in seven games this season with a minus-3 rating. He had a rocky 2014-'15 season, recording just 28 points in 80 games despite plenty of opportunity to skate with Chicago's playmakers.
The Blackhawks signed Bickell to a four-year extension in June 2013 after he had a magnificent postseason in a run to winning the Stanley Cup, as he had 17 points in 23 playoff games that year. The Blackhawks shopped Bickell on the trade market this past offseason, but no one was much interested in the $4 million salary he came with this year.
Dano has seven points (one goal, six assists) in nine games with Rockford this season. He had 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 35 games with the Blue Jackets last season.
Dano was acquired in the offseason trade that sent burgeoning star Brandon Saad from Chicago to Columbus. Dano was originally the 27th overall pick of the Blue Jackets in the 2013 draft.