Blackhawks Send Stern Message by Scratching Two Longtime NHL Veterans

Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks will look remarkably different on the ice in Colorado. They've called up defenseman Artyom Levshunov, the 2nd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks.

All the while, they've made moves that have strengthened their bottom six in the acquisition of forward Joe Veleno in exchange for goalie Petr Mrazek, and forward Craig Smith.

Tonight the Arty-Party begins, as he gets to square off against the Avalanche.

While Anders Sorensen may have finally come to his senses, and scratched defenseman TJ Brodie, and forward Pat Maroon.

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Brodie has been disappointing the majority of this season and allowing Levshunov to get a look in the lineup is a great way of evaluating his growth in the AHL.

This season he's played on the bottom-pairing and tallied only 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 54 games this season.

Somehow Brodie managed to escape the trade deadline unscathed, despite his lack of production and fault play this year.

While Pat Maroon is a surprise, the big rig is far past his prime and could find himself on another team in July, if they will sign him that is.

Maroon was responsible for helping Lukas Reichel to find his confidence and becoming a mentor for the young center.

However, he's produced sparingly and fought for his teammates less so than expected.

In 58 games on the fourth line, he's scored 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) with a -10.