Chicago Blackhawks Trade Hjalmarsson, Panarin on Draft Day
On the first day of the NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks have traded two core players. Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson are leaving Chicago.
The Chicago Blackhawks opened the draft day with a flurry of news and trades, as the Blackhawks have officially made two trades already.
The first is Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coyotes for defensemen Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin.
The second is Artemi Panarin going to the Columbus Blue Jackets with prospect Tyler Motte and a sixth round pick.
That’s in exchange for Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg, and a fifth.
Let’s break these two moves down.
Niklas Hjalmarsson to Arizona
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This trade was made after the rumors of the Blackhawks moving a core player came to fruition.
Hjalmarsson had won all three recent Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks.
He was also a top 2 defenseman for the Hawks and was an invaluable resource for a long time.
He was by far the Blackhawks’ best defensive defenseman and one of the best in the league.
Which is probably why Arizona made the trade.
They bring in a great defenseman as well as someone with experience winning. That will be good for their young team.
But why did the Blackhawks make the trade? It seems like Hjalmarsson was too important to give up, plus, Connor Murphy’s 3.85 million dollar contract is just 250K less than Niklas Hjalmarsson’s 4.1.
But Murphy is 6 years younger than Hjalmarsson and signed for three more years. Plus, the Blackhawks also got Dauphin out of the deal.
That’s two good defensive defensemen for the price of one great older one. But let’s look at the stats for this trade, if you’re so far unconvinced.
Niklas Hjalmarsson’s stats the last two years: 7 goals, 35 assists, 42 points, 332 blocks, 21:57 TOI, 50.4 CF%, 92.3 on ice SV%, 56.2 defensive zone shift start percentage.
Connor Murphy’s stats: 8 goals, 26 assists, 34 points, 258 BLK, 19:50 TOI, 46.4 CF%, 92.05 oiSV%, 56.2 def zs%.
Results
Murphy had about the same on-ice save percentage without the benefit of Corey Crawford.
He has fewer blocks, but that means less damage. More goals. And about the same defensive zone shifts.
Again, he’s a younger version of Niklas Hjalmarsson who hasn’t played with a defenseman like Duncan Keith.
Those numbers should go up, and Murphy represents something the Blackhawks hadn’t had.
Quality blue-line youth. Now, instead of the three most important Blackhawks defenders being over 30, they’re 33, 32, and 24.
And again, the Blackhawks also brought back a really good prospect in Laurent Dauphin. He’s younger than Ville Pokka and has actually seen ice time in the NHL.