Joey Anderson barely had time to process his first day with the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I found out about the trade at about 10:30 (a.m.) out here and got on a flight an hour later, 11:30, and got pretty much to the hotel, right as they’re leaving,” the winger said after the Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss in Anaheim, which ended a five-game winning streak. “So I just grabbed a quick bite to eat and came over.”
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The “trade” was Monday’s deal in which the Hawks acquired Anderson and Pavel Gogolev — along with a 2025 conditional first-round pick and 2026 second-round pick — from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty and conditional fifth-round picks in 2024 and ‘25.
“I don’t know if I’d call it shocked just because at this time of the year, you never know,” Anderson said. “But you’re never really expecting it.”
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Before puck drop at 9 p.m. Central time, Anderson had drawn into the lineup along with another newcomer making his Hawks debut: Andreas Englund.
The Hawks picked up the former Colorado Avalanche defenseman in a deal that reunited Jack Johnson with his old team.
A quick side note: Englund wore 88 with the Avs — which he obviously can’t wear in Chicago regardless of what happens with the looming Patrick Kane trade with the New York Rangers — so he was issued No. 28. Anderson, who wore 28 in Toronto, was issued 15.
Anderson played on a line with Boris Katchouk and Jujhar Khaira, who returned to the ice after missing 26 games with a lower body injury. Anderson played about 11 minutes, with a minute on the penalty kill.
Englund was paired with Ian Mitchell and played 2 1/2 minutes of his 17 total on the PK.
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“Englund plays the way he plays,” coach Luke Richardson said. “He’s a big man, he plays hard, blocks shots, which we saw there in the third period, and just keeps his game simple.
“That’s what he is, a defensive defenseman, and a real physical guy.”
Of Anderson, Richardson said “he had lots of energy out there tonight, he was really trying to pay attention to detail on things. And unfortunately, he didn’t get a lot of specialty time.”
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Anderson is just trying to make the most of whatever time he gets.
He said his goal with the Hawks is to “just try to be hardworking, two-way — you’re not going to get nothing flashy, just see a play in front of me,” he said. “I’m going to make it and try to get to the net, be good defensively.
“Some call it low-event hockey, but I think it’s efficient.”
As the Roseville, Minn., native tries to settle into a new locker room, there’s at least one perk already — Anderson’s family is “excited to be closer to home.”