Where Blackhawks’ roster battles stand entering last week of training camp

It’s crunch time for players on the Blackhawks‘ roster bubble, who have just five days of training camp left to jockey for NHL spots.

The Hawks signaled that Monday by cutting their camp roster down to 30. Forwards Nick Lardis and Samuel Savoie and goalie Drew Commesso were the most notable guys sent to Rockford.

Lardis impressed in rookie camp earlier in September as well as in some main-camp practices, but he didn’t make a huge impact in his preseason action. It makes sense to ease him into pro hockey in the AHL, at least for a few months.

The goaltending situation was never uncertain, with Drew Commesso always destined to return to Rockford despite his belief in his NHL readiness. It’s an encouraging sign that Commesso, Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom all posted save percentages over .930 in their first preseason starts.

Monday itself was an off-day for the Hawks, but there are still three home exhibitions left — Tuesday, Friday and Saturday — for players to make their cases.

Forward battle

The first line (Connor Bedard centering Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky), the second line (Frank Nazar centering Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi), the anchors of the third line (Jason Dickinson centering Ilya Mikheyev) and one member of the fourth line (Nick Foligno) have been constants throughout camp.

Landon Slaggert got the first look on Dickinson’s left wing before being sidelined with an injury. He’s expected to return to practice Tuesday, so he should be healthy for Opening Night next week in Florida, although his role is in flux.

Colton Dach has been a camp standout, securing his NHL job. He’s another candidate to slot onto that checking line.

Sam Lafferty will almost certainly make the roster, too, but his performances this week could determine whether he starts on the fourth line or as a healthy scratch.

Youngsters Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene are likely battling each other for one available spot. Moore’s speed and tenacity have made him noticeable in every setting, and he’s probably the favorite in that battle.

But keeping Greene could help the Hawks in the faceoff circle, an overall team weakness. It’s rare and remarkable to see any rookie win 52.3% of his draws, even in the preseason.

The biggest question mark is Lukas Reichel, whose name continues to float around the trade market. He has plenty of supporters within the fan base, but the organization remains bearish about his outlook.

Even after he excelled in Saturday’s exhibition, Blashill alluded to the fact that Reichel’s offensive, free-flowing, top-six-style game doesn’t lend itself naturally to bottom-six roles, which are the only roles available. This could be one of the most pivotal weeks of Reichel’s career.

Defensive battle

Five defensemen — Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic, Connor Murphy, Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov — appear locked into NHL jobs. Vlasic suffered a lower-body injury Sunday, but the Hawks claim he’s just day-to-day. Kaiser and Levshunov have become connected at the hip.

Louis Crevier is a good bet to claim the No. 7 defenseman role because the Hawks don’t want to risk placing him on waivers. That leaves waiver-exempt prospects Ethan Del Mastro, Kevin Korchinski and Nolan Allan and veteran Matt Grzelcyk fighting for the last remaining spot.

Del Mastro was the clear favorite among that group entering camp, but he has struggled in preseason action, committing turnovers and getting burned by indecisiveness. Korchinski and Allan have displayed their strengths — smooth skating and big hits, respectively — but they’re still raw in other regards.

It’s conceivable the Hawks could decide to give all three more time in Rockford and sign Grzelcyk as a short-term placeholder.

“If it was to work out, I could help some of those guys come along,” Grzelcyk said Friday, making his contract pitch. “[I would] not see it as me taking a spot from someone.”