The Blackhawks‘ first change of hopefully several this week came Sunday as Drew Commesso replaced Arvid Soderblom as the team’s backup goalie.
The move ends Soderblom’s run of more than three seasons as the Hawks’ backup. The 27-year-old Swede, who is on the second year of a two-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, was placed on waivers.
Commesso, who has been patiently waiting his turn in Rockford for more than three years, now gets a full-time NHL opportunity at last.
The 24-year-old has struggled early this season in the AHL, going 2-4-1 with an .890 save percentage. But he proved himself a solid AHL goalie each of the past three seasons.
He impressed in three Hawks starts last season, too, going 2-1-0 with a .918 save percentage — including a heroic shutout against the Predators. He signed a new two-year contract this past summer that converts to a one-way deal next season.
Soderblom, meanwhile, has long been a scapegoat for fans, many of whom welcomed Sunday’s transaction yet wished bigger news had accompanied it.
He has an .885 save percentage across 117 career NHL games, and he has been particularly poor early this season, losing each of his four starts and posting an .842 save percentage in them. He most recently allowed several soft goals that doomed the Hawks to a 4-1 loss Thursday against the Lightning (then allowed three more goals in relief Saturday).
Since the start of last season, Soderblom’s minus-18.2 GSAA ranks sixth-worst in the NHL, per Natural Stat Trick. That means he has allowed 18.2 more goals than expected based on the quantity and quality of shots he has faced.
There’s no guarantee Commesso turns out to be an improvement over Soderblom — particularly behind a defense this weak — but it’s hard to imagine him being worse. It’s almost certainly worth a shot.
Commesso said in training camp that knowing he belongs at the NHL level has allowed him to “carry myself a little differently in a lot of good ways.”
The Hawks placed Patrick Kane on injured reserve to open the roster spot, but he’s eligible to be activated at any time.