With Patrick Kane’s latest injury, forward prospect Nick Lardis appeared as a natural replacement for the Chicago Blackhawks on their upcoming three-game road trip.
But the 21-year-old winger unfortunately wasn’t a recall option for the Blackhawks on Tuesday, as the Rockford IceHogs announced that Lardis will miss the next 1-2 weeks with an ailment of his own. Lardis suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Texas Stars.
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IceHogs announce that Nick Lardis “is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a lower body injury”
— Dana Grey (@DanaGrey0) November 3, 2026
Before the injury, Lardis had been solid since being reassigned to Rockford on Oct. 13, with three goals and four assists for seven points in seven games. His contributions have been key for an IceHogs team that, like the Blackhawks, has struggled to produce offensively this season. Rockford has only 22 goals in its first 10 games, with a 4-6-0 record.
Ultimately, the Blackhawks recalled Dillon Boucher from Rockford before boarding the plane to Florida, giving the team 13 healthy forwards for the road trip. Boucher, a 29-year-old, minor-league-level winger, isn’t quite the replacement for Kane that Lardis would have been.
General manager Kyle Davidson probably would have preferred to recall either Sacha Boisvert or AJ Spellacy over Boucher; however, neither has proved worthy of an NHL opportunity yet. Boisvert and Spellacy are both without a point in their first 10 outings this season and haven’t impacted games much.
November is typically when Davidson recalls his top prospects from Rockford, but only after they’ve forced his hand by dominating the AHL level. Boisvert and Spellacy haven’t done that yet, leaving Davidson with no choice but to look elsewhere with his latest roster transaction.
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