New Blackhawks center Joe Veleno hopes to show there's 'more to my game' than Red Wings saw
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Veleno suspected a trade might be in the works when Red Wings coach Todd McLellan met his eyes but didn't talk to him after making him a healthy scratch Thursday.
On Friday, his hunch was proven correct when he was awakened from a nap with a call informing him he had been dealt to the Blackhawks (for Craig Smith and Petr Mrazek). But his anticipation of the news didn't make the ensuing travel straightforward by any means.
The 25-year-old center had flown with the Wings from Detroit to Washington on Thursday night. He was booked on a 5:20 p.m. United flight back to Detroit to gather his belongings, but it was delayed nearly four hours, so he ended up not getting home until midnight.
Then he had to scramble to pack for an immediate four-game, nine-day road trip spanning three time zones with the Hawks. He got only three hours of sleep at home before catching a Saturday morning flight — on time this time — to join his new team in Nashville.
"I was like, 'I’ll just try to fit whatever I can in this suitcase,'" Veleno said Saturday, hours before making his Hawks debut against the Predators.
Aside from the hectic travel, the Montreal native is looking forward to this fresh start and change of scenery, both figuratively and literally. After signing a two-year contract with a $2.275 million salary-cap hit last summer, he was never able to find a rhythm this season with the Wings.
"The beginning of the season didn't go as well as I would've liked in terms of production, ice time and the way that I wanted to play," he said. "I thought I would have a good opportunity there, but things weren't working out. I couldn't really tell you why, but everything [was] a little bit involved, with the coaching change and all that stuff."
The previous two seasons, Veleno had filled a steady bottom-six role and had also played some on the Wings' penalty kill and second power-play unit. He tallied 20 points in 2022-23 and 28 points in 2023-24. His overall analytics weren't great, but they were OK defensively.
The Hawks hope they can elevate Veleno at least back to that level of play, if not unlock a new level in his game. He's 6-1 and 201 pounds and was a first-round pick back in 2018, after all. And he's a very good skater — he ranked in the top quartile of the league in every speed-related stat last season — which always seems to appeal to Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson.
"He’s got some pace [and] some size to his game," Davidson said Friday. "He came [into the NHL] very highly touted; he’s a talented guy. We’ll give him some opportunity and see if we can pull some additional value out of him."
Veleno will slot Saturday onto the fourth line with Lukas Reichel and Pat Maroon. Faceoffs are one area where he'll immediately be able to help, since the Hawks direly lack experienced draw-takers. He is definitely experienced, having taken over 2,000 faceoffs over the last four seasons, although he has won only 46.5% of those.
The year remaining on his contract theoretically gives him some runway to find his niche, but nothing is guaranteed with a summer roster overhaul on the horizon. Plus, he's too old to really be considered a prospect anymore, so he will feel some urgency during this 19-game stretch run to prove himself.
"I think I've got more to my game offensively than I've shown," Veleno said. "[But] just being a factor all over the ice, playing a complete game, winning faceoffs, penalty killing and chipping in offensively is the kind of game I've always been able to [bring]."