Blackhawks place veteran winger on IR

The Blackhawks placed winger Joey Anderson on injured reserve Monday morning, Tracey Myers of NHL.com reports. Anderson left Sunday’s loss to the Canucks with a left shoulder injury and did not return.

Anderson, 25, will miss at least seven days, although the team has not issued a specific timeline for his return to the lineup. He had played in 13 straight games since the Blackhawks recalled him from AHL Rockford in late November, recording five assists and a +5 rating while averaging 13:21 per game. His 55.8% Corsi share at even strength leads all Blackhawks players by a wide margin.

Chicago is already without two other regular forwards, Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou, due to long-term injuries. Defensemen Seth Jones and Jarred Tinordiremain on injured reserve with shorter-term ailments.

It’s been a strong showing for a player tabbed as an NHL-AHL tweener, passing through waivers unclaimed at the beginning of the season. A third-round pick of the Devils in 2016, Anderson is now with his third NHL organization after spending parts of three seasons with the Maple Leafs. The Blackhawks acquired him from Toronto in February of last season in the Jake McCabe/Sam Lafferty trade and re-signed him to a one-year, two-way dealworth $800K in the NHL and $475K in the minors in June.

Before his recall, Anderson was off to a torrid start in Rockford, posting seven goals and 16 points through 14 games. While he’s been a strong minor-league producer since turning pro with the Devils in 2018, this is his first time producing above a point-per-game pace.

Now with 109 NHL games under his belt, Anderson is slowly approaching full-time depth NHLer status after playing a career-high 38 games last season for Toronto and Chicago. He’s likely to remain on the Blackhawks’ roster when he’s ready to return. As he’s played more than 10 games since last clearing waivers, he must clear again if the Blackhawks attempt to return him to the minors.

Anderson will be a restricted free agent next summer. He is eligible for salary arbitration for the second straight season, although he avoided such a fate last summer by signing an early extension.