Chicago Blackhawks: Nick Schmaltz’s injury tips scale on trade
Many have questioned the moves that Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman has made, but with the season-ending injury to the Arizona Coyotes center, Nick Schmaltz, the Hawks have just tipped the scale and won the trade.
The Phoenix Coyotes announced today, that their center, and former member of the Chicago Blackhawks Nick Schmaltz, will miss the rest of the season due to a lower-body injury.
For those that do not remember, the Blackhawks traded Schmaltz to the Arizona Coyotes back in November. Schmaltz according to his statistics page on NHL.com, scored only two goals and had nine assists. He is only 21 years old but was struggling to put up any big numbers when given the opportunity.
Whatever it was, it is no longer a problem for the Blackhawks, because they got a significant return in that trade that can help them out in the long run. In return, they acquired centerman, Dylan Strome, and forward, Brendan Perlini. Dylan Strome has complemented Patrick Kane on the second line for the Blackhawks.
With the addition of Strome, it has not only helped Patrick Kane become increasingly efficient, but the power play has started to make progress as well. According to his statistics on ESPN, Strome in 21 games with the Blackhawks has seven goals and seven assists.
INJURY UPDATE: #Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a lower-body injury.
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 8, 2019
The power play has been good to him as well. He has one goal and two assists. The Blackhawks were ranked as one of the worse teams in the NHL on the power play, but now according to Fox Sports, they are ranked 23 out of 31 teams.
Brendan Perlini has been productive, but not as much as Strome. The Hawks are looking to improve their bottom line depth and Perlini has helped improved those numbers.
In 20 games with the Hawks, Perlini according to NHL.com has only three goals and one assist. Look to see if Perlini can make some significant improvements to his game, so he can develop into a reliable depth piece for when the Blackhawks are ready to contend for the Stanley Cup again. No matter what though, it seems as though the Blackhawks won the Nick Schmaltz trade.