With the offseason now underway, the Chicago Blackhawks have kicked things off, signing Anton Wedin to a one-year contract. Wedin had 14 goals and 13 assists in 32 games for Timra IK. He was 12th in the SHL with 0.87 points per game and was third amongst forwards with an average ice time of 19:10. The Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs were also favourites in on the sweepstakes.
Stan Bowman and company are no strangers for looking to Europe to help bolster their depth. Whether it’d be Artemi Panarin from Russia, Erik Gustafsson from Sweden or Dominik Kahun from Germany, they’re able to find decent impact players (obviously Panarin more so).
Wedin is 5’11 and 194 lbs and plays a quick game as well. Though he’s not necessarily the most skilled player, he has a hard work ethic and uses his skating to create time and space. This could make him an effective player on a Blackhawks penalty kill that was rather abysmal last season. Wedin is also versatile and can play any forward position as well as play up and down a lineup. However, Wedin is best suited as a winger for the bottom six of a starting formation.