The Blackhawks have made it possible for a host of players who, more than likely, would not get any press time to get noticed for a day signing five players to one-year, two-way deals. Forwards Evan Brophey, Nathan Davis, and Hugh Jessiman, defenseman Jassen Cullimore and goaltender Hannu Toivonen have all been brought into the Blackhawks fold for depth purposes.
Of the names on this you may have heard of, we’ve talked about Jessiman here before when it was reported that the Blackhawks would be signing him. He’s the former New York Rangers first round pick and the only player from the first round of the 2003 NHL draft to not play a game in the NHL yet.
Brophey and Davis are the other two forwards of the bunch and will help the Blackhawks with their depth issues as anyone that goes down to injury next season will cause major headaches for the Blackhawks on the roster. Both guys had solid but unspectacular seasons in AHL Rockford last year.
Toivonen is an interesting character to re-sign as it’s possible that if Corey Crawford doesn’t provide solid backup support for Marty Turco this season, Toivonen will be in Chicago to do the job. Toivonen has the experience and he’s been around a bit already in his short career. He was a first round draft pick of the Bruins in 2002 and has also played for the Blues. He spent last year in both Peoria and Rockford in the AHL.
Jassen Cullimore is the definition of a cagey veteran. Cullimore, 38, has had quite the long NHL career as a fifth or sixth defenseman and he’s been hanging out in the Blackhawks system the last couple of years with Rockford. With how the Hawks defensive depth has taken blows this off-season, Cullimore getting to make one more go of it in Chicago isn’t out of the question.