Blackhawks re-acquire Vinnie Hinostroza from the Florida Panthers

The Chicago Blackhawks made a move Friday afternoon, bringing back a familiar face to the Windy City and adding to their forward depth.

It was announced this afternoon that the Blackhawks have acquired forward Vinnie Hinostroza from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Brad Morrison. The move reunites Hinostroza with the team that originally drafted him, and where he would go on to play the first three seasons of his NHL career.

Re-acquiring former ‘Hawks has become somewhat of a trademark of General Manager Stan Bowman, so this move shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Coupled with the fact that the trade deadline is just over one week away on April 12, and Bowman likely wanted to make this quick turnaround to try and shore up Chicago’s bottom six.

Per CapFriendly, Hinostroza is currently signed through the end of the 2021 season, with a cap hit of $1 million. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bowman try and re-sign Hinostroza after the end of the year. This doesn’t really seem like a rental-type move, after all, especially when the ‘Hawks aren’t guaranteed to make the playoffs. If the two can come to an agreement, then Hinostroza might end up in a Blackhawks sweater for a decent amount of time.

Originally drafted by Chicago in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the 26-year-old Hinostroza would score 13 goals and 26 assists through his first three years with the ‘Hawks. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2018 as a part of the Marian Hossa deal before signing as a free agent with the Florida Panthers in 2019.

Hinostroza is originally from Bartlett, Illinois, and played NCAA hockey for the University of Notre Dame prior to being drafted. He has scored 34 goals and 66 assists for 100 total points in his NHL career.

Catch Hinostroza potentially back in a Blackhawks sweater tomorrow when Chicago will face off against the Nashville Predators at 2 p.m. CST.