Chicago will be without the services of Marian Hossa for the next 2-3 weeks due to an injury suffered during Saturday’s 5-1 win over Pittsburgh at Soldier Field, head coach Joel Quenneville announced.
Hossa, 35, left the game with 6:34 remaining in the first period and didn’t return to the ice. The Blackhawks then announced he’d miss the remainder of the game with an upper-body issue -- all told, Hossa played just six shifts and had 4:18 of ice time before leaving.
It’s expected that Brandon Saad will elevate to a top-line winger role in Hossa’s absence, lining up alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. Quenneville also said the club might look at calling someone up from AHL Rockford -- on that, it’s worth noting the ‘Hawks flipped Brandon Pirri to Florida on Sunday. The former second-round pick had 13 points in 35 games with Chicago over the last four seasons.
Regardless of who fills in, it’ll be difficult replacing Hossa’s production. The Slovakian had 50 points in 57 games this year while averaging over 18 minutes per night.