The Chicago Blackhawks were involved in what is one of the biggest trades to happen this season or in the NHL salary cap era. This 3-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes saw Taylor Hall and Mikko Rantanen head to the Hurricanes, while Martin Necas and Jack Drury went to the Avalanche. So where was Chicago?
The Blackhawks botched this trade and are the suckers in the deal by not getting enough to trade Taylor Hall and retain $4.625 million on Rantanen’s contract. They didn’t retain any cap space on Hall’s $6 million salary cap, but they did acquire a third-round pick (likely 66th-68th in the 2025 draft) in exchange for Hall and retaining all that money.
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The Blackhawks were expected to get a third-round pick closer to the trade deadline for Hall alone, so holding back $4.6 million should, at the very least, have wiped out the draft pick they got in exchange for a mid-round pick. second round at worst.
We’ve seen plenty of examples of a third team holding onto some money and getting a fourth or fifth round pick if they don’t move a player like the Minnesota Wild in 2023, when they ate $1.875 million off Ryan O’Reilly’s contract before trading him to the Toronto Maple Leafs and got a 2025 fourth-round pick for their troubles.
The Blackhawks could have done a lot more here and not waiting until the deadline approached really made them look bad in this deal. The only good thing that comes from making this trade now is taking out a veteran that Chicago knew they were going to trade and leaving a spot in the lineup for someone else. The Blackhawks need more of that, but not at the cost of this paltry return.
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