Chicago Blackhawks News: Former players Brandon Saad and Adam Boqvist land on waivers

Do not expect Brandon Saad to have a third tour with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he is a free agent now.

The St. Louis Blues placed Saad on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract.

It was a mutual decision with Saad leaving $5.4 million on the table. Hey, some guys would rather avoid skating in the AHL but still collecting millions.

Saad won two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks last decade. He was known as a rising star during his first run with the team.

Saad had 26 goals and 32 assists for the 2015 Stanley Cup-winning club. Then the annual salary cap crunch the Hawks always faced forced the team to trade him to Columbus where he made an All-Star team.

Saad's second go around with the Blackhawks did not go so well when he returned in 2017 as the key return for the club in the Artemi Panarin trade. Once again, the salary cap crunch made it necessary to trade Panarin, but Saad could not replicate what he did during his first run with the Hawks.

He did have two seasons where he scored over 20 goals during his second tenure, but considering Panarin put up better numbers and the team rapidly declined, Saad's return has never been viewed well.

Saad moved on after the 2019-20 season. He did carve out a good career with the St. Louis Blues until this season where he has produced just seven goals and nine assists.

That got him booted off St. Louis' roster. Now there is speculation that he could be reunited with former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman in Edmonton.

Adam Boqvist also was waived.

The Hawks' former first-round pick was waived by the Florida Panthers. The defenseman has skated in just 18 games for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Boqvist signed with the Panthers this past offseason after Columbus bought out his deal after an injury plagued season.

Boqvist was one of the promising players along with draft picks Bowman traded to the Blue Jackets to get the exclusive negotiating rights window to Seth Jones.

It is a trade where neither team has made out well. Jones' contact has been albatross around the franchise's neck. Boqvist and one of the players Columbus selected with the first-round picks they got are no longer with the organization.

Although, Cole Sillinger is having a solid career. He was drafted by the Blue Jackets with one of the first-round choices Chicago sent. The Hawks also got a draft pick back in the deal that they used to get Nolan Allen, who is showing promise this season.

Still, at the time, a lot of fans were not happy with Bowman trading away all the players he took in the first round. So far, Boqvist has failed to live up to his high draft status.