Ailing winger Eric Daze was put on injured reserve retroactive to Friday and did not accompany the Blackhawks on their four-game trip, which begins Tuesday night against the Blues.
Forward Jason Morgan, one of the final cuts in training camp, was recalled from Norfolk and will be available Tuesday.
The Hawks are saying Daze pulled a muscle in his back during warmups Friday night, but it is sounding more and more like his back has been bothering him for a while.
“There is no need to put him on a plane and be in foreign beds,” coach Trent Yawney said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Yawney said it’s unsure when Daze will even begin to skate again.
“We have to get him pain-free first and then start working on some strength,” Yawney said. “Then we’ll add the ice in.”
Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said Daze wasn’t in great shape during training camp, an indication that Daze’s back may have been bothering him and affecting his training before camp started.
Daze, 30, has had three surgeries on herniated discs in his back and admitted during camp that he doesn’t know if his back can withstand the grind of an NHL season anymore.
Daze played just three games in October 2003 before having what the team called “stiffness” in his back. After several exams, he finally decided to have surgery in December.
Daze struggled to decide to have surgery then, and the decision would figure to be even more difficult if it comes to that now. The Hawks are seeking additional opinions by having other doctors look at the MRI that was taken Saturday.
“They want to be clear that they’re not missing anything,” Yawney said.
“[Daze has] made some progress. At the same time, his health is the main concern. Not just from a hockey standpoint but from a life standpoint. He’s a young man. We don’t want him to have an 80-year-old back at 35.”
While Daze stayed home, defenseman Adrian Aucoin did accompany the team after injuring his groin early in Friday’s 6-3 victory over San Jose.
Yawney said Aucoin was tender Monday and didn’t practice before the team boarded its charter. His availability for Tuesday is questionable.
Tuesday is the first leg of a difficult early-season trip. The Blues are winless and gave up four goals in the third period of a 7-6 loss Saturday to San Jose. The final three games–in Colorado, San Jose and Vancouver–are tough places to play.
The trip comes on the heels of a disappointing 3-2 loss to Columbus in which the Hawks failed to compete for the first two periods.
“I don’t want the mentality to start in, `Here we go again,'” Yawney said. “We had a meeting [Monday] and got some things accomplished.”
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rfoltman@tribune.com
