Chicago Blackhawks: 3 most underrated players from the dynasty

Some Chicago Blackhawks fans might not realize how good Niklas Hjalmarsson was to this team. He was there for all three championship runs for a reason. He didn’t light the world on fire with his point totals at all but he was one of the best defensive defensemen in the league for a very long time. He was the perfect compliment to having Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook ahead of him in the lineup.

Hjalmarsson made a name for himself by always being in the right position. He also had a great stick and was a shot-blocking machine. He wasn’t awesome at moving the puck to the point where a player like Patrick Kane hated being on the ice with him but that is because Kane is borderline awful defensively yet one of the best offensive players in the world.  Hjalmarsson was the perfect guy to have on your team in defensive situations.

The Blackhawks made a less than wise decision to trade Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes. They wanted to get younger at the position with the theory that Hjalmarsson had “a lot of wear and tear” on his body but that is just ridiculous. He did have a lot of “wear and tear” but he is a hockey player. He went to the Coyotes and was awesome while the Blackhawks have been pretty bad defensively since he left. He is definitely one of the most underrated defensemen not only in Blackhawks’ history but recent NHL history.