Blackhawks' first change is at backup goalie: Arvid Soderblom placed on waivers

The Blackhawks' first change of hopefully many this week came Sunday as backup goalie Arvid Soderblom was placed on waivers.

The move likely ends Soderblom's run of more than three seasons as the Hawks' backup, at least for now. The 27-year-old Swede is on the second year of a two-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Once he clears waivers Monday — or gets claimed by another team — the Hawks will have a roster spot free to add a new goalie.

Presumably, that will be longtime prospect Drew Commesso, who has been patiently waiting his turn in Rockford for three-plus years now. He signed a new two-year contract this past summer that converts to a one-way deal next season.

Commesso has struggled early this season in the AHL, going 2-4-1 with an .890 save percentage, but he has proven himself a solid AHL goalie each of the past three seasons. He impressed in three NHL starts last season, too, going 2-1-0 with a .918 save percentage — including a heroic shutout against the Predators.

Soderblom, meanwhile, has long been a scapegoat for fans, who will likely welcome this move — while continuing to expect more significant ones in the coming days.

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. 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 against the Hurricanes).

Since the start of last season, his 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.