Both Murphy and de Haan skated by themselves but did not join the Blackhawks for their scrimmage on Tuesday.
Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Connor Murphy and Calvin de Haan returned to Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday after being deemed “unfit to participate” last week during Phase 3 of the NHL’s Return-To-Play Plan. Murphy skated by himself for a while before the Hawks hit the ice for their main practice Tuesday morning, and then de Haan skated on the second practice rink while the team held their scrimmage in the afternoon.
“Great to have Murph and de Haan back on the ice,” coach Jeremy Colliton said after practice on Tuesday. “We’ll get them going as quick as we can. When they join the full group, I don’t know.”
Murphy practiced with the Blackhawks for the first three days of training camp before being absent last Friday following an off-day. The 27-year-old defenseman did not practice with the team over the weekend, along with de Haan and goaltender Corey Crawford. In just 58 games this season, Murphy posted career-highs in points (19), even-strength goals (5), shots on goal (117), and average time on ice (21:15).
As for de Haan, the veteran blueliner participated in the Blackhawks’ first day of training camp on July 13, but he did not return throughout the week due to a family emergency. The 29-year-old de Haan only played in 29 games for the Hawks this season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in mid-December. In those 29 games, the Carp, Ontario native recorded six points (1G, 5A) and logged a plus-10 plus/minus rating while averaging 19:55 time on ice.
One day after leaving practice early for rest, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews did not join the team at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday after being ruled “unfit to participate”. Toews was seen heading to the locker room following power-play drills on Monday and did not return for the rest of practice. Colliton stated that Toews was held out for the remainder of Monday’s session because he was “just trying to keep [Toews] fresh. Nothing other than that.” With an off-day scheduled for Wednesday, it certainly will be interesting to see if Toews rejoins the team later on in the week before traveling to Edmonton on July 26.
The Blackhawks are set to face the St. Louis Blues in an exhibition game at 5:30 p.m. July 30 before their best-of-five play-in series vs. the Edmonton Oilers begins on Aug. 1.
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