CHICAGO -- Daniel Carcillo is ready to be the player the Chicago Blackhawks hoped he would be during his last stint with the team.
Carcillo was hampered by knee injuries when he was last with the Blackhawks from 2011-2013. He was limited to 51 regular season and four playoff games during those two seasons. The Blackhawks gave up on him after the 2013 season and dealt him to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional draft pick in July of 2013.
Carcillo, 29, is now being given a second chance with the Blackhawks. He was added to the team's training camp roster on Friday after being released by the Pittsburgh Penguins from a professional tryout contract on Thursday. Carcillo will play in the Blackhawks' final preseason game on Friday and could earn himself a spot on the NHL roster.
"We're going to play him [Friday night]," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after the team's morning skate on Friday. "We're going to consider signing him here. We'll see what plays out in the next few days."
Carcillo could end up filling a physical, fourth-line role for the Blackhawks. The role was expected to go to forward Brandon Mashinter out of training camp, but he suffered an undisclosed injury during a preseason game on Wednesday.
Carcillo knows the role well. It was what he had hoped to provide the Blackhawks in his last stint with the team.
"My last year [with the Blackhawks] I had 16 months off from the ACL [injury] and then getting injured in the first game [in 2013] the last time I was here," Carcillo said. "I'm in a lot better shape now. I'm down about 15, almost 20 pounds. I'm feeling I could really get around, and I know I can help this team in a role that you look around and it seems to be lacking.
"I think there's certain guys that you have to make feel comfortable and let them play their game, puck possession, whatever it may be, and not let people mess around with them or get in their head. You look around the room and there really isn't someone in here that has been doing it for a lengthy amount of time. I'm just kind of coming in and they obviously want you to play too, so that's something I can do and I'm looking forward to it."
Carcillo has bounced around the NHL since leaving the Blackhawks. He began the 2013-2014 season with the Kings and then was traded to the New York Rangers in January. He finished the season with the Rangers and appeared in eight playoff games. His two-year contract, which he originally signed with the Blackhawks in 2012, came to an end last season. He joined the Penguins training camp last month and was limited due to a foot injury.
Quenneville played Carcillo in a variety of spots before with the Blackhawks. Quenneville is hopeful Carcillo can find a role with the team again.
"We like the presence that he had with our team there in the lockout year," Quenneville said. "He gives us energy. He's one of those guys that can be disruptive, plays hard, can be used in situations where all of a sudden he was playing with [Jonathan Toews] and [Marian] Hossa. He can play on a line where you expect him to be a banger and a crasher and play that type of role for us. He's lost some weight.
"I thought he had a real good year last year with the Rangers and added something to their team at the end of the year. He's excited about this opportunity for sure. So, we're happy to have him here."
Carcillo is certainly happy to be back.
"Like I said before, I've been here before, I'm comfortable, I know the guys," Carcillo said. "When I left here it was amicable. Everyone was awesome to me, so coming back feels right. Like I said before, I have family here and a place here. It's not every day that a player like me gets to go back to the town that they want to be in, so it's nice to be here."
The Blackhawks' active roster includes 29 players, including 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goaltenders.