Blackhawks: Three notable trade deadline deals from the past

The Chicago Blackhawks’ last few seasons have not been that great. They have one trip to the playoffs that should be in air quotes because it involved a play-in round and the Hawks probably should not have been there.

Even though the team has not been in the playoffs, they have used the trade deadline to add some prospects and rebuild the team. Today I want to highlight a few trade deadline trades Stan Bowman has made the past few seasons to help put the team in a good position.

When Blackhawks fans think of the trade deadline I am sure they think of the players the Hawks bought to go for a playoff run. Bowman did his best to put the team in a good position and it often paid off. From, Antoine Vermette to Andrew Ladd, the Hawks have added a lot of top players.

Here are the three best trades Bowman has made the past few seasons to help rebuild the Blackhawks.

3. Robin Lehner Trade: 2020 – Vegas Golden Knights

The Chicago Blackhawks had two goalies last season that were both stars. Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner both earned the respect of fans for how well they played all season. Then at the deadline the team sent Lehner packing to Vegas for a second-round pick and Malcolm Subban.

I was all for the trade at the time, arguably they should have gotten a first-round pick, but the team was not going to re-sign Lehner at the end of the season because of their cap issues and state of the team.

So they got a solid goaltender with some upside in Subban and a second-round pick that they then turned into Drew Commesso. Commesso is the team’s number one goalie prospect, and after having so many different players make it to the NHL this season, he definitely is the team’s number one prospect in the system.

2. Ryan Hartman Trade: 2018 – Nashville Predators

I miss 2018 trades. The Blackhawks could only get a second-round pick for Robin Lehner, a star goalie, but for Ryan Hartman in 2018 the team was able to add a first-rounder, a fourth-rounder, and a decent prospect at the time in Victor Edjsell.

The team turned that first-round pick into Nicolas Beaudin, who just finished his first real season in the NHL that featured a lot of positives along the way. Hartman was a young player at the time with a lot of potential. He has found a home in Minnesota and could go on a playoff run with the team.

1. Mattias Janmark Trade: 2021 – Vegas Golden Knights

Maybe there is a little bit of recency bias on this one, but the Chicago Blackhawks trade this past deadline to Vegas was amazing. The Hawks sent Mattias Janmark and a fifth-rounder to Vegas for a second and a third. This trade was during the most recent trade deadline, and it is by far the best on this list.

The team needed to add some picks in the first couple of rounds and they did just that. Janmark was signed in the offseason and trading him away doesn’t lose anything for the team. Plus because the team gave him a lot of opportunities in the first half of the season, Janmark’s stats warranted a second-rounder instead of just a third or fourth like it might have been before the season.