Shortly before the Chicago Blackhawks held their first official practice coming off the Olympic break, the team made a series of roster moves on Wednesday morning.
Few roster moves made from the #Blackhawks before getting back to practice.
Wyatt Kaiser (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 4.
Kevin Korchinski & Sam Rinzel have been recalled from Rockford. pic.twitter.com/3B9Fr9mp57
— Jack Bushman (@JackBushman2) February 18, 2026
First, defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury retroactive to Feb. 4, in the Blackhawks’ final game before the break. Kaiser appeared to have injured his left knee after Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski fell on his leg, which twisted awkwardly.
Head coach Jeff Blashill provided a slight update on Kaiser’s status on Tuesday, saying he’ll be out when the Blackhawks return to play on Feb. 26. It sounds like it will be a multi-week absence for the 23-year-old, but he is expected to play again this season. The hope is that he can return at some point in March.
With Kaiser on injured reserve, the Blackhawks recalled defensemen Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Once again, there are seven blueliners on the active roster.
Rinzel has played in 31 games with the Blackhawks this season and was up in the NHL going into the break, stepping in for a struggling Artyom Levshunov for the team’s final three games. As the lone defenseman eligible to be assigned to the minors during the Olympics, the Blackhawks sent the 21-year-old down to Rockford so he could remain in action. Rinzel has tallied nine points (2G, 7A) with Chicago in 2025-26.
For Korchinski, big-league opportunities have been tough to come by since spending the entire 2023-24 campaign with the Blackhawks as a 19-year-old. He’s appeared in only 18 NHL games over the last two years, and just two so far this season. But with Kaiser estimated to miss a few weeks, Korchinski is in line to receive his longest NHL stint since he was a rookie.
It’s interesting that the Blackhawks elected to recall Korchinski over Ethan Del Mastro, who’s the bigger player and better defender between the two. Kaiser played a major role defensively and on the penalty kill, and Del Mastro figured to be the more fitting replacement for that specific role.
With seven defensemen on the roster, it will be fascinating to see if Blashill returns to a lineup where all seven dress regularly. That was something he utilized often earlier in the season, but he hasn’t as much since Connor Bedard got hurt back on Dec. 12. Perhaps now is the time to roll that out consistently again.
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