Chicago Blackhawks Morning Links: Tommy Wingels Trade Pays Off

The Chicago Blackhawks officially got a 2019 fourth-round pick with the Boston Bruins defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night

This spring, the Chicago Blackhawks and general manager Stan Bowman were in a very unfamiliar position when the trade deadline came around.  For the first time in almost a decade, they were sellers.  But with most of the team locked into long-term contracts, there was little flexibility on which players could be traded for future assets.

One trade that everybody is familiar with is the Ryan Hartman deal that gave the ‘Hawks an additional 2018 first-round pick, a fourth-round pick and top Swedish prospect Victor Ejdsell.  But there was another small trade that made an impact.

Bowman sent Tommy Wingels to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2019 conditional fifth-round pick.  The conditions were if the Bruins advanced past the first round of the 2017-18 Stanley Cup Playoffs or re-signed Wingels in the offseason, the draft pick would become a fourth-round pick.

Wingels played well for the Blackhawks this season, providing veteran experience and adding depth to the forward group.

But the trade paid off when the Bruins beat the Leafs Wednesday night in Game 7 of their first-round series to advance to the second round and play the Lightning.  The ‘Hawks now have nine draft selections in the 2019 draft.

In Blackhawk Up news, we said farewell to editor Keith Schultz, who managed the site for more than six years.  He built a following of more than 12,000 Twitter followers and made Blackhawk Up one of the most visited FanSided websites for NHL teams.

He gave the opportunity to die-hard fans to blog about their favorite hockey team, including me.  Keith is also an advocate for mental health, and he often reminded us that there is always someone to talk to.

Thank you, Keith, for all of your work.  Here’s a stick raise to you!

-Blackhawk Up

Next: Panarin Couldn't Have Saved 2017-18

Morning links

• What’s Brent Seabrook’s role moving forward? – The Athletic
• IceHogs’ powerplay has Wolves on the brink of elimination – Chicago Sun-Times
• ABC7’s Evelyn Holmes and her love of hockey – ABC7 Chicago
• NHL explains headshot bans – ESPN
• Peter Stastny like any other nervous hockey dad – The Athletic