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Ryan Carpenter Traded To Calgary Flames

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The Calgary Flames have made another addition to their forward group, acquiring Ryan Carpenter from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks will receive a 2024 fifth-round pick in return.

If you could create the perfect Darryl Sutter-style bottom-six forward, Carpenter might be it. The 31-year-old forward is physical, can play all three forward positions, and routinely takes on incredibly difficult defensive deployment. There isn’t a single regular on Chicago who has started a higher percentage of his shifts in the defensive zone, or a forward that has logged more short-handed ice time. Sam Lafferty has started to take over some of that role since being acquired in January but Carpenter remained a key cog in the Blackhawks’ penalty-killing system and will likely take on a similar role in Calgary.

After also acquiring Calle Jarnkrok and Tyler Toffoli earlier in the year, the Flames have considerably deepened their forward group in preparation for a long playoff run. For the price of a fifth-round pick, they’ve acquired someone that can play a specific role–and play it well–while not adding any issues to their future cap situation. Carpenter is on the final year of a three-year, $3MM deal and carries a cap hit of just $1MM. He’ll be a UFA this summer, though with just three goals and 11 points this year, likely will have trouble securing a similar multi-year contract.

For Chicago, adding anything of value for Carpenter was the goal today as they start a full rebuild. A fifth may not be much, but it’s another draft pick to add to the pile–a pile that is growing quickly under new general manager Kyle Davidson.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff broke the deal on Twitter.

Wild Acquire Marc-Andre Fleury; Trade Kaapo Kahkonen To Sharks

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The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has been traded again. The Chicago Blackhawks have traded Marc-Andre Fleury to the Minnesota Wild, in exchange for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2022. If Minnesota advances to the Western Conference Final and Fleury wins a minimum of four games in the first two rounds combined, the pick will upgrade to a 2022 first-round pick. Chicago is also retaining 50 percent of Fleury’s contract.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson released the following statement:

This trade immediately puts us in a better position at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, giving us a pick that will land early in the draft. We are in a better position today at the upcoming draft than we were yesterday. In a short time with the Blackhawks, Marc-Andre made quite an impression on our fanbase and in our locker room. We appreciate his willingness to work with us on finding a deal that worked for everyone. 

In a related move, the Wild have traded Kaapo Kahkonen and a 2022 fifth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jacob Middleton.

As recently as last night, the talks between Minnesota and Chicago appeared to have broken down, as the veteran netminder took the crease for the Blackhawks against the Winnipeg Jets. Fleury ended up losing that game, allowing five goals on 31 shots. That performance notwithstanding, he’ll offer a huge experience upgrade over Kahkonen as the Wild continue their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

Fleury, 37, won the Vezina with the Vegas Golden Knights last season in the most impressive year of his career, but ended up shipped out to the Blackhawks in a shocking offseason move. From the moment it happened, Fleury’s days in Chicago seemed numbered, given his expiring contract and the lack of competitiveness from the Blackhawks after games started. The question was always would he even want to be traded somewhere else, as he ended up with a handshake no-movement clause after arriving in Chicago.

Minnesota now has a netminder with over 900 regular season games of NHL experience, plus three Stanley Cup rings on his shelf. Still, that certainly doesn’t mean he’s ready to take the Wild all the way. In both of the last two championships he won in Pittsburgh, Matt Murray took over the net at some point in the playoffs, and a similar change happened in Vegas when they brought in Robin Lehner. Over 162 career playoff games, Fleury has just a .912 save percentage, not exactly what most teams need to go all the way.

Among executives in the league who know what Fleury can bring though, Wild GM Bill Guerin certainly ranks pretty high. Their time in Pittsburgh together was quite successful, and now they’ll try to do it one more time before Fleury’s career wraps up in the coming years (or months).

He’ll still have another goaltender to lean on with Cam Talbot, but the fact that Minnesota felt Kahkonen was expendable certainly shows how all-in Guerin is this season. The Wild have huge cap penalties coming next season due to the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, meaning this year may be their best chance to contend. Giving up a conditional first-round pick may be a pricey decision for a rental goaltender, but it’s hard to argue against the resume that they’ve brought in.

In dealing Kahkonen to San Jose, the Wild have also shored up the defensive side of the puck by adding a big, mean, physical player in Middleton. The 6’3″, 220-lbs defenseman has finally broken through and become a regular in the NHL this season, averaging more than 18 minutes a night. With the additional acquisition of Nicolas Deslauriers, the Wild have added plenty of size to the lineup to go on a deep postseason run.

For San Jose, adding Kahkonen gives them a potential future starter, though things haven’t gone perfectly so far in his young career. The 25-year-old has a .910 save percentage this season in 25 games. Importantly, he’s also a pending restricted free agent, one that the Wild would have had to give a hefty raise despite still paying Talbot next season. For the Sharks, they now have two younger goaltenders–along with the injured Adin Hill–who could both provide some great value moving forward.

Sharks acting general manager Joe Will released a statement on Kahkonen:

Kaapo is a quick, athletic goaltender who has shown the ability to win consistently at every level he has played. He provides our club additional depth at the goaltending position this season and in the coming years.

Questions will now be asked about James Reimer though, who currently sits as the starter for the Sharks and is signed through next season. There isn’t really room for all three, meaning at some point–either today or in the summer–there could be a market for San Jose to move Reimer out.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to provide the full details of the Fleury trade, while Michael Russo of The Athletic broke the Kahkonen trade a few minutes after Fleury was acquired. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blackhawks Have Discussed Marc-Andre Fleury With The Minnesota Wild

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An interesting story circulated today with a new team being added to the watch-list for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury: the Minnesota Wild. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned earlier that the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks have had conversations about the veteran goaltender and that it was something to keep an eye on. Even if the two sides could agree on a deal, Fleury has a modified no-trade clause and the Blackhawks do not plan to trade him to a team without his approval, and thus, Fleury would have to want to be traded to the Wild.

No Serious Trade Talks Yet For Marc-Andre Fleury

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  • With the trade deadline just over 48 hours away now, it appears to be all quiet on the Marc-Andre Fleury front, suggests Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Fleury has been assured by the Blackhawks that he’ll have the final decision as to whether or not he’ll accept a trade even though he doesn’t have a full no-trade clause.  LeBrun notes that at this point, there have been some general inquiries but none that could be described as serious.

Blackhawks Place Connor Murphy On LTIR And Tyler Johnson On IR

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It has been a busy day for Chicago.  After shipping Brandon Hagel along with a pair of fourth-round picks to Tampa Bay for two future top-ten protected first-rounders plus wingers Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, the team announced that they’ve placed defenseman Connor Murphy on long-term injured reserve and center Tyler Johnson on injured reserve.

Murphy was stretchered off the ice on Saturday after taking a hit from Ottawa’s Parker Kelly and it’s no surprise that the placement has been back-dated to Saturday.  He’ll have to miss at least 10 games and 24 days from there which means he wouldn’t be able to return until April 7th at the earliest.  With it being a concussion and the fact that the Blackhawks are well out of playoff contention, it’s possible that they simply shut him down for the rest of the season.

Doing so would effectively allow Chicago to add all of Murphy’s $3.85MM AAV to their LTIR pool and give them that much extra room to work with by Monday’s trade deadline.  With several buyers having limited cap space, a bit more flexibility for the Blackhawks to work with could certainly be useful for GM Kyle Davidson.

As for Johnson, his placement is also retroactive to March 12th and with him just being on regular IR, he’s technically eligible to return as soon as Sunday against Winnipeg.  However, that won’t be the case.  Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago notes that Johnson only resumed skating on Thursday and while interim coach Derek King noted that the veteran will need to go through the various stages of concussion protocol, he should be able to return sooner than later.

Trade Deadline Primer: Chicago Blackhawks

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As we enter the middle of March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks have been among the most successful teams in recent NHL history. They won three Stanley Cups with their core of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith, but their last win was in 2014-15, and times have gotten leaner since. Former GM Stan Bowman made a blockbuster trade last offseason to acquire defenseman Seth Jones, but the team has disappointed, and under new GM Kyle Davidson, the team looks set to begin a large-scale rebuild in order to return to proper contention. That rebuild began today, with the team’s trade of Brandon Hagel for a large haul of picks and prospects. With that move done, and Davidson’s issued statement on the trade, it is clear that big changes are coming to the Blackhawks sooner rather than later.

Record

22-30-9, 7th in the Central

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$2.26MM today, $2.26MM in full-season space, 1/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: CHI 1st (only receive pick if slotted #1 or #2), CHI 2nd, EDM 3rd,* TOR 3rd, VGK 3rd, CHI 6th, CBJ 6th, CHI 7th

2023: CHI 1st, TBL 1st,** CHI 2nd, TBL 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, CHI 5th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th

* If EDM makes it to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and D Duncan Keith is inside the team’s top-four in terms of time-on-ice, CHI will receive EDM’s 2022 2nd

** 2023 TBL 1st is top-10 protected.

Trade Chips

Chicago’s recent trade of Brandon Hagel clearly shows that Davidson is serious about the Blackhawks’ rebuild. Hagel is only 23 years old, productive, and on a steal of a contract that costs $1.5MM against the cap until 2024-25, when he will be a restricted free agent. He’s the kind of player that most teams– even rebuilding ones– would want to keep. A player to build around, even. But for Davidson, a scorched-earth rebuild is in order, and his apparent goal is to stockpile as many picks and prospects as possible to build the Blackhawks into a mid-to-late 2020’s powerhouse. So in order to do so, it seems as though any player on the team’s roster is potentially available at the right price. Which means a “trade chips” section could be a bit wide open. That being said, there are a few likelier candidates.

One more likely candidate is defenseman Calvin de Haan. De Haan, 30, is a veteran defenseman on an expiring contract with a $4.55MM cap hit. He plays a style of hockey that is largely unremarkable, but also commendably steady. He has gotten into 55 games this year and posted only five points, so teams seeking offense should look elsewhere, but if a team wants a player who they can stick on their bottom-pairing and not have to worry about, De Haan fits the bill there. The asset cost for a team to acquire him should also be lower than many of the other defensemen on the market, although one does wonder if the asking price gets increased thanks to the aquisition cost the Florida Panthers paid to acquire Ben Chiarot. But regardless of what that prior trade may have done to his market, De Haan represents an attractive trade chip for contending teams who are in need of steady defensive reinforcements but leery of paying the high prices associated with the other available blueliners.

Another player on the team more likely to be moved is forward Ryan Carpenter. Carpenter is similar to De Haan in that he plays a bland-but-steady style of hockey, although perhaps that is more of a virtue for a defenseman than it is for a forward. Even so, Carpenter, 31, has carved out an NHL career nearing 300 games in length through his hard work, determination, and character. He hasn’t and probably never will cross the 25-point threshold, and he’s not an overwhelming defensive or physical presence, but he plays a reliable game of hockey that a coach might desire for his bottom-six. He has 26 games of playoff experience and a coach with a less established bottom-six could prefer Carpenter to a less proven, more inexperienced player once the rigors of playoff hockey truly set in. Like De Haan, Carpenter also should not cost very much to acquire, and his cap hit is only $1MM, so expect him to be one of the likelier Blackhawks to be dealt by monday.

While Carpenter and De Haan are both assets where an acquiring team knows what they are receiving, with a player like Dominik Kubalik, things are far less certain. Chicago is reportedly interested in trading Kubalik, and after the Hagel trade, it certainly seems more likely. Kubalik, 26, broke into the NHL in 2019-20, scoring 30 goals in his first season as a professional in North America. He followed that up with a decent 2020-21, with 17 goals and 38 points in 56 games. This season, though, as the Blackhawks team around him has struggled, Kubalik’s production has not improved as many may have expected. Through 61 games Kubalik has just 11 goals and 21 points, and his linemates are more frequently players like Philipp Kurashev and Henrik Borgstrom than they are Kane. As a pending RFA with arbitration rights, his situation in Chicago has gotten more dicey. Could a contending team, or even a team seeking to contend in the near future, take a leap of faith and trade for Kubalik, hoping that he re-gains the scoring touch he had in his first two seasons? A source indicated (subscription required) to Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers of The Athletic that the asking price on Kubalik could be just a 2nd round pick, so this is the kind of trade that could be a home run if a team gets it right.

Others To Watch For: G Marc-Andre Fleury, F Patrick Kane, F Dylan Strome

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks

As previously mentioned, it’s clear that Davidson’s vision for this team includes stockpiles of draft picks and prospects. So, in terms of what the Blackhawks need at this deadline, their number-one priority should be fulfilling that vision. That means that if there is a reasonable trade on offer that involves the Blackhawks receiving a beneficial amount of draft compensation in return, the teams should do it. They don’t have a ton of cap space available, but perhaps after moving veterans as expected Chicago could have enough room to function as a cap-space broker as well, in order to add a few more depth picks.

2) Reclamation Projects

One of the best ways a team can speed up their rebuild is by identifying and acquiring struggling players who can be developed into quality NHL players. As an example of this, the Rangers got a top-six center in Ryan Strome as part of their rebuild, and the Vancouver Canucks got a point-per-game force by trading for J.T. Miller, whose production was stagnant in Tampa Bay. The Blackhawks already have a history of doing this, with former top prospects like Strome  on their roster, but as more and more NHL ice-time gets freed up by rebuild-oriented trades, trying to find diamonds in the rough should be a goal for Davidson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Brandon Hagel

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The Chicago Blackhawks have begun the teardown, though it will start with a very surprising move. They are trading Brandon Hagel and a pair of fourth round picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 first-round pick. After the deal became official, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson issued the following statement:

“I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that. Getting two first round draft picks as well as two, young, NHL players helps us kickstart that process in a major way. We know that Brandon Hagel was a fan favorite — our fans loved him for all the reasons we loved him — and we know he be successful with the Lightning.”

Hagel, 23, is on one of the most valuable contracts in the league this season and carries a cap hit of just $1.5MM through the 2023-24 season. The deal, signed in August, was after a rookie season that saw him score nine goals and 24 points in 52 games. This year he’s fired well past those marks, already racking up 21 goals and 37 points in 55 games.

That kind of an asset isn’t usually one that a struggling team trades, though the Blackhawks’ new management, led by general manager Kyle Davidson, has been clear that there is a full rebuild coming in Chicago. Trading Hagel now, when he very well might be at the peak of his value (but not necessarily his production), will give that rebuild a kickstart, even if it does mean they lose some prime, inexpensive years of a homegrown talent. Despite being selected by the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, Hagel waited and signed his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks two years later, and has only ever played for that organization.

Still, for a package of picks and players like this, it is easy to understand why Davidson pulled the trigger for his first trade since losing the interim tag and being officially named general manager earlier this month. The team had gutted their own system through previous acquisitions like the Seth Jones trade from last summer and it will likely be several years until they are truly considered playoff contenders again. If they are moving Hagel they are likely willing to trade just about anyone on the roster for the right price.

For the Lightning, they have no one to imitate but themselves when it comes to trade deadline moves. This deal is extremely similar to the one that landed them Blake Coleman two years ago, which–along with the addition of Barclay Goodrow–made their forward group incredibly deep and ultimately helped them win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Like Coleman, Hagel may be slightly undersized but plays a versatile, in-your-face game that can work in basically any spot in the lineup.

Even better, while Coleman was under contract for just one more season following that 2019-20 campaign, Hagel won’t even be an unrestricted free agent when his current three-year deal ends in 2024. He’ll still be an RFA at that point, meaning the Lightning have even more control. His extremely low cost means that he won’t negatively affect the Lightning’s cap situation, one that is always tight as they often find themselves in long-term injured reserve and in need of inexpensive options. In fact, simply moving out Katchouk and Raddysh makes the cap work for Tampa Bay, thanks to how cheap Hagel is.

While collecting draft picks is one thing, Davidson will soon have a bigger task on his hands than sending assets out the door. The Blackhawks are going to need to not only find the right players in the draft–the picks from Tampa Bay are certainly not expected to be very high, and even in the case that Tampa falters, the picks are top-ten protected–but also develop them into legitimate NHL talents. That work has already been mostly completed with Katchouk and Raddysh, who were both second-round selections and have been regulars this season in the Lightning lineup.

That’s not to say either of them will bring the level of offense Hagel had, though there are certainly some interesting aspects to the new Chicago forwards. For one thing, Raddysh isn’t heading into a room of unknowns, as he played on a line with Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome for the Erie Otters. He’s also been developing quite nicely in the Lightning system and, standing 6’3″, brings size that Hagel never could. Raddysh has five goals and 12 points in 53 games with Tampa Bay this season, though that comes while averaging just barely over 11 minutes a night.

Katchouk is another big, powerful forward, and another OHL graduate, this time from the Soo Greyhounds. He has two goals and four points in 38 games with the Lightning this season, averaging under ten minutes a game. Notably, though he has played 20 fewer games than some of his teammates and rarely sees the ice when he does get in the lineup, Katchouk ranks third among all Tampa Bay forwards in hits with 98. It will be interesting to see if size becomes a trademark of the Blackhawks under Davidson, given the first player out the door is a 5’11” 174-lbs winger, albeit one that has never shied away from contact or the physical side of the game.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to report that Hagel had been traded, while John Buccigross of ESPN provided the specific details. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Interest Rising In Calvin De Haan

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  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports conversation surrounding Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan is heating up, and specifically names the Toronto Maple Leafs as a team in the mix to acquire him. De Haan has just five points on the year, but he’s still an extremely capable two-way defenseman who’s helped stop the bleeding defensively this year in Chicago. He’s a solid case of a buy-low candidate who could flourish on a better team, which is exactly the type of player the Maple Leafs have targeted in recent months.

Blackhawks Making Progress On Dominik Kubalik Trade

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The Chicago Blackhawks have had a nightmare season and chief among the underachievers has been Dominik Kubalik. The 26-year-old forward has just 11 goals and 21 points in 61 games, a far cry from the 30-goal season he put up as a rookie in 2019-20. With that disappointing season getting even worse of late–Kubalik has just one goal and four points in his last 18 games–his name started to rise in trade speculation recently and is now a prime candidate to be moved in the coming days.

Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Blackhawks are “making progress” on a Kubalik trade, with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers as frontrunners. Whoever does acquire the enigmatic winger is getting a player on the last year of his current contract that will be a restricted free agent and eligible for arbitration in the summer. Kubalik will be owed a $4MM qualifying offer just to retain his rights as an RFA.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Alex Vlasic To Entry-Level Deal

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Adding to today’s growing list of NCAA players signing their entry-level contracts, Alex Vlasic has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Per the team, the deal will carry an $824,167 cap hit. Vlasic was drafted by the Blackhawks 43rd overall in the 2019 draft, only just before another of today’s signings, Drew Helleson. 

Vlasic, 20, is perhaps best known for being among the biggest players in his draft class. Standing at six-foot-six, Vlasic’s size has made him an intriguing prospect as he’s developed in the NCAA. There’s not a lot of offense to his game, as he has only 20 points in his 82-game career at Boston University, but his aforementioned size, which is highly coveted and difficult for teams to find, has made it so that lack of offense hasn’t tarnished much of his shine as a top prospect. Just by being as big as he is, Vlasic offers high defensive upside thanks to his reach and potential to be a menace along the boards. He’s the cousin of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and while that has little bearing on his actual play on the ice it should excite fans who know the connection and remember Vlasic in his prime when he was among the NHL’s most fearsome defensive defenders. Even if Vlasic’s offensive game never comes along, he should be able to carve out an NHL career as a defensive specialist.

Speaking of his potential ability to carve out an NHL career, his doing so could be closer than many would think. Vlasic is heading straight to Chicago to be with the Blackhawks team, according to Bartlett Hockey, Vlasic’s representation. While it is not confirmed if Vlasic will make his NHL debut this soon after signing, the Blackhawks getting him into Chicago and with the team this quickly should signal their excitement over his upside and their confidence that he is ready for the rigors of NHL hockey. Given the uncertainty NHL fanbases often wrestle with when it comes to NCAA prospects and their signability, seeing Vlasic fast-tracked to the NHL like this should relieve and excite a Blackhawks fanbase that looks headed into uncharted waters under new GM Kyle Davidson.

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