In a breaking news twist, despite the fact that the whole of the NHL media believed Jack Pridham to be re-entering the draft, the Blackhawks traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the eleventh hour.
The NHL world has been operating under the assumption that no deal would be struck between the Blackhawks and Pridham, and nobody in their right mind expected a trade to be a part of it. The terms of the deal are simple. The Blackhawks get their third round trade back, and the Lightning gain rights to sign Pridham.
Kyle Davidson salvaged value from a difficult situation
Even though these Blackhawks looked to be on the short end of the stick on this one, the Blackhawks front office managed to salvage enough capital to at least return them to where they were before.
Allow me to be clear. Just because the Blackhawks aren't entirely losing here doesn't mean this isn't a huge setback. Pridham had been a name keeping many in Chicago on the edge of their seat, particularly after his performance in the OHL.
If you view this trade through the lens seen in Tampa Bay, this makes perfect sense. They lose out on a 2027 third round selection, sure, but who they're acquiring in return should more than pay back that debt. Pridham has raised his own bar, and it's obvious that the Lightning believe he can be a worthy piece of their lineup. At the very least, he's worth losing a third round draft pick.
The optics of this look bad on the exterior for the Blackhawks. But when you zoom into the details, a different picture becomes clear. The Blackhawks scouting department identified Pridham as a man who could raise the bar in Chicago. I'd be willing to bet they even thought they'd gotten him on a steal.
The Blackhawks deserve credit for turning a potential loss into a recoverable asset. Still, getting a third-round pick back is not the same as keeping a prospect whose stock had risen this dramatically. Whether this trade becomes a win for Chicago or Tampa Bay will ultimately depend on what Jack Pridham becomes from here.
| More Blackhawks News and Rumors |
Add us as a preferred source on Google