Blackhawks Place Patrick Kane on Injured Reserve and Call Up Commesso as Chicago's Goalie Shuffle Continues

The Chicago Blackhawks made two roster moves on Sunday night, and the headline name was the one going onto injured reserve. Patrick Kane, the 37-year-old winger in his first season back in Chicago, was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, retroactive to November 2. At the same time, the club recalled goaltender Drew Commesso from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

Before anyone in Chicago panics, the context matters. Kane can be activated from injured reserve at any time, and with the placement backdated to November 2, he is eligible to return for the Blackhawks' next game, at home against Buffalo on Thursday. The move was, in large part, a piece of roster housekeeping: Chicago needed a spot for Commesso, and Kane's was the one available.

The injury itself is not new. Kane was first reported to be dealing with an upper-body problem on November 3, when head coach Jeff Blashill said he would miss the next couple of games. No specific injury or timeline has been disclosed beyond that, and the picture should become clearer after Monday's practice.

What is certain is that Chicago can ill afford to lose him for long. Kane has one goal and eight assists in 15 games this season, averaging a little over 18 minutes a night, and he remains one of the few proven offensive creators on a roster that is struggling badly. He returned to the Blackhawks this past summer on a two-year, $16 million contract, a homecoming for the player who won three Stanley Cups with the franchise and sits at 509 career goals.

The other half of Sunday's announcement tells its own story about where Chicago stands. Commesso, 24, was a second-round pick in 2020, 46th overall, and he arrives as the new backup behind Spencer Knight after Arvid Soderblom was placed on waivers earlier on Sunday. The Blackhawks moved quickly rather than wait for Soderblom's waiver fate to be decided on Monday afternoon, a sign of how thin the margin for error has become in goal.

Chicago is 4-13-1 and has lost six straight games. The team is winless on the road at 0-8-1. The next test comes at the United Center on Thursday against Buffalo, and Commesso could be on the bench for it. Whether Kane is back in the lineup by then is the question that matters most to a team that needs every bit of help it can get.

For now, the official line is reassuring: this is a formality, not a setback. But for a franchise in the middle of a rebuild and a six-game slide, even a formality involving Patrick Kane is news. Chicago will be watching Monday's practice closely.