Blackhawks History: Revisiting the Hjalmarsson and Panarin trades

On June 23, 2017, the Chicago Blackhawks completed two of the worst trades in team history, dealing both Niklas Hjalmarsson and Artemi Panarin.

Three years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks made two trades that ultimately changed the course of where the franchise was headed. Coming off three Stanley Cup victories in six years, Niklas Hjalmarsson was critical for the Blackhawks blue line.

In ten seasons, he accumulated 23 goals with 120 assists for 143 points. Oddly enough, Hjalmarsson never scored a power-play goal during all that time, but he was so good at giving up his body to deny the opposition a shot on net.

During their Cup runs, the Blackhawks were frequently up against the NHL’s salary cap and had to say goodbye to several key members after the parade. On June 23, 2017, Niklas Hjalmarsson was that guy for the Blackhawks, who is currently making $5M AAV in his contract with the Coyotes.

When I think back on Hjalmarsson’s time in Chicago, I am reminded of his disallowed goal in Game 7 of the West Conference Semis against the Detroit Red Wings. Just before Hjalmarsson fired his blast on net, Brandon Saad was called for coincidental minors, a questionable penalty at best.

And I remember thinking that if the Red Wings pulled off that victory, that game would forever have an asterisk next to it. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.

Speaking of Saad, I think general manager Stan Bowman hung onto the nostalgia of those Stanley Cup teams, as Saad was a cap casualty after the 2015 Cup victory. Traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, an undrafted player named Artemi Panarin took his place on the second line next to Patrick Kane.

All he did was average 30 goals and 45 assists a year, while also making Kane a better version of himself, as he led the Western Conference with 106 points during the 2015-2016 campaign. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep him around long-term, as Panarin was traded to the Blue Jackets for Saad, who hasn’t been able to replace Panarin’s production.

He was an electric player with fantastic stick handling, but my favorite memory of Panarin during his time in Chicago was his first career hat trick against the Rangers back in February 2016.

While he was just one cog in the group of players, Panarin was a big reason why the Blackhawks finished third in the league with 57 power-play goals. And they haven’t finished within the top-ten for power-play goals since the 2015-2016 season.

This post was meant to be a trip down memory lane, honoring two great Blackhawks even if Panarin was here for just two seasons. Maybe the next general manager will trade for Panarin.