Two huge fan favorites were traded by the Blackhawks today and it made some fans scratch their heads. You may like, hate or even be indifferent about the trades but I’m going to try to make some sense of them for you.
Arizona Coyotes Trade
Blackhawks Give Up: Niklas Hjalmarsson
Blackhawks Receive: Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin
Connor Murphy – The 2011 first round pick allows the Blackhawks to get younger and obtain a longer contract. He is six years younger than Hjalmarsson and has five years left on his contract, as opposed to Hammer’s two. His cap hit is only $250,000 cheaper but allows the Blackhawks to focus their salary cap attention elsewhere for the time being.
Experts say that he has top four defensemen ability and size (6’4″ 215lbs) but his skills need to be refined. Stan Bowman has been watching Murphy closely with team USA for a few years and said, “His hockey game is something we don’t have a lot of. We really like his size, his physicality, his overall game.”
Laurent Dauphin – The word was that the Blackhawks really wanted to draft him in the second round in 2013 but Arizona scooped him up instead. Dauphin is a 22 year old center who plays bigger than his size, in a way much like Marcus Kruger. He is a fast, two-way player who can win pucks and really be a sleeper in this deal.
Columbus Blue Jackets Trade
Blackhawks Give Up: Artemi Panarin, Tyler Motte and 2017 6th Round Pick
Blackhawks Get In Return: Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg and 2018 5th Round Pick
Brandon Saad – He is actually a year younger than Artemi Panarin and carries the same cap hit with two more years on it. We all know what we’re getting with Saad, a two-way player who has great chemistry with Jonathan Toews. In his two years in Columbus he even proved that he could score consistently on his own.
Some fans may be upset that the Blackhawks are giving up a budding superstar, in Panarin, but he is effectively a one-dimensional player. He scores on the power play with one-timer feeds from Patrick Kane. What the fans cannot forget is that the organization needs to replace Marian Hossa’s play. Saad is that guy. His defensive ability, contributions on the penalty kill and consistency even earned him the nickname “Mini-Hossa” in his first stint in Chicago.
Anton Forsling – Let’s face it. With Scott Darling traded to Carolina offseason, the Blackhawks have no backup goaltender. Forsling is big as well as athletic with great potential. He is a high-end talent who has already had success in the AHL and could be an NHL starter in the future.
Younger And Cost Certainty
The Blackhawks have “One Goal” every season but they had multiple goals this offseason. Stan Bowman said he was looking to get younger and add cost certainty. That is exactly what the organization accomplished today. Looking at the big pieces from each trade, the Blackhawks acquired a younger player with a similar contract.
It is tough to give up fan favorites like Hjalmarsson and Panarin, but that’s business. My first thought is that the Blackhawks “lost” these trades but sometimes guys like that need to go, to be competitive in the future. Younger players, along with Saad, will need to pick up the scoring they will lose from Panarin. I’m more worried about losing Hjalmarsson’s presence and hope that Murphy can get the push he needs from Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook to “refine” his skills.
Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.
Also, Hawks replace Hossa's two-way void with a guy commonly referred to as "mini-Hossa." Also the much-needed jumpstart Toews needs. https://t.co/zjbagzweB8
— Brian Foran (@BForanNHL) June 23, 2017
