Hawks haven’t received much production from Brendan Morrison yet

Brendan Morrison

Updated: March 18, 2012 8:20AM

NEW YORK — The Blackhawks didn’t give up much to get Brendan Morrison from the Calgary Flames. Still, they were hoping he would give them a bit more than he has so far.

Morrison knows that.

‘‘It hasn’t been what I expected at all as far as the results we’re getting and my play,’’ said Morrison, who was a healthy scratch Thursday for the third time in eight games since the Hawks
acquired him for defense prospect Brian Connelly
during the All-Star break.

‘‘It’s a work in progress, for sure. There’s been a lot of mixing and matching. They’re trying to figure it out and see if we can find some chemistry and see what’s going to work. But I’m not happy.’’

Coach Joel Quenne-
ville has opted to play tough guy John Scott the last two games, including Thursday against the New York Rangers.

The Hawks hoped Morrison would become their second-line center, but that hasn’t been the case. He played with winger Marian
Hossa on the second line in his first game with the Hawks on Jan. 31 against the Vancouver
Canucks. He also ran the point on the
second power-play unit in that game. Since then, though, he has been used primarily among the bottom-six forwards or not at all.

‘‘We’ve used him in a couple of different places,’’ Quenneville said. ‘‘His ­opportunity to stay with the same group for an extended period of time hasn’t existed. He’s been OK.’’

Part of Morrison’s struggles stem from his health. He still doesn’t feel fully ready after having surgery last offseason to repair a torn
anterior cruciate ligament. He has been taking longer practices for weeks, especially after being scratched in three of the last four games.

‘‘There are times when I feel great, and there are
other nights where it’s a bit of a battle,’’ Morrison said. ‘‘I’m just trying to put in some
extra time here at practice and trying to get back to where I know I can be.’’

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