Only 26 players remain. The Blackhawks, as expected, made more cuts Friday sending forwards Kyle Beach, Igor Makarov, Brandon Pirri and Ben Smith and defenseman Brian Connelly to the Rockford IceHogs.

Jeremy Morin and Nick Leddy both remain with the team for at least the weekend, earning a longer look from Stan Bowman and Co.

Beach and Makarov are the notable cuts. But neither should come as a surprise. They simply weren't ready. Their performances in Thursday's exhibition loss to the St. Louis Blues -- who fielded a lineup of NHL regulars -- only emboldened the Hawks' decisions to send them to Rockford for more seasoning.