Blackhawks activate veteran center

Tracey Myers of NHL.com is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday, activating forward Tyler Johnson off injured reserve and recalling defenseman Louis Crevier from the Rockford IceHogs.

Johnson had been sidelined with a right foot injury since Dec. 31 and will presumably slide into the Blackhawks’ third line alongside Lukas Reichel and MacKenzie Entwistle. Given the Blackhawks' forward personnel, the 33-year-old Johnson will also likely see time on Chicago’s first power play unit.

Early in his career, Johnson was a perennial 20-goal scorer but hasn’t hit that mark since the 2018-19 season. This year, Johnson has nine goals and four assists in 35 games and could become a trade chip for Chicago as we near the NHL trade deadline. 

Johnson is in the last year of his contract and carries a $5M cap hit. While he does have a 20-team trade list, there could be interest in the veteran as a buy-low option if he can show he still has his scoring touch.

Crevier, on the other hand, has dressed in 15 games this season for Chicago and has three assists. He will likely serve as the Blackhawks’ healthy scratch on Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild but could see action at some point during his recall. 

The 22-year-old has yet to score a goal in professional hockey at either the AHL or NHL level but does offer some other attributes that aren’t often seen in professional hockey. 

Standing at 6-foot-8, Crevier is very solid in the defensive zone as his size allows him to disrupt offensive sequences and close gaps that smaller players might not be able to.