The defending Stanley Cup champions the Chicago Blackhawks will be keeping one of their young players as they agreed to a one-year deal with left wing Joakim Nordström who will be playing in his third season.
Nordström was drafted by the Blackhawks in the third round in 2010 but only made his debut on Oct. 1, 2013.
He was sent to the Blackhawks' American Hockey League affiliate the Rockford IceHogs a couple of times before being recalled on February 2015.
The 23-year-old athlete played in 38 regular season games last season but he was unable to score a goal, although he tallied three assists.
In the Blackhawks' playoff campaign, Nordström played in three games and did not record a single point.
After striking a deal with Nordström, ESPN reported that center Marcus Krüger is the only restricted free agent yet to be signed by the Blackhawks.
In other Blackhawks news, captain Jonathan Toews said unity is important especially with the situation the team is in with right wing Patrick Kane being accused of sexual assault.
Toews told TSN 1290, "I think you've just got to have confidence that things like that will resolve themselves over time. And for the time being, you stay together as a team, you support your teammate, teammates that are maybe going through a rough patch."
The 27-year-old captain also said, "Eventually you just deal with it internally, you stay together as a team, and you're confident that as individuals and as a group, everyone kind of stays together."
He added that everything that matters is not letting anything affect their game and teamwork.
Toews and Kane are stars of the franchise and last summer agreed to an eight-year, $84 million contract each which will take effect in the upcoming 2015–16 season.
