The Chicago Blackhawks are wasting no time making serious changes ahead of Friday’s 2017 NHL Draft.
The Blackhawks completed two trades Friday, first dealing 25-year-old forward Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets to re-acquire 24-year-old winger Brandon Saad. Chicago additionally sent forward Tyler Motte and its sixth-round pick (170th overall) in the 2017 draft to Columbus in the deal and received goaltender Anton Forsberg and a 2018 fifth-round pick from the Blue Jackets.
That same day, the Blackhawks also completed a trade with the Arizona Coyotes, parting with defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson in return for defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Laurent Dauphin.
Panarin was a promising young player in Chicago. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2015-16 after leading all first-year players with 77 points (30 goals, 47 assists) and racked up 74 points this season on a career-high 31 goals and 43 assists.
Yet the Blackhawks suffered a disappointing first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Nashville Predators this spring, and they’ll try to return to their winning ways by welcoming back Saad, who helped Chicago win two Stanley Cups during his first three seasons with the club.
The ‘Hawks also appear determined to get younger on the blue line, shipping off the 30-year-old Hjalrmarsson in return for a 24-year-old defenseman in Murphy and a 22-year-old forward in Dauphin.
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
