Blackhawks Acquire Rem Pitlick from the Penguins

Montreal Canadiens v New York Islanders
Montreal Canadiens v New York Islanders | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

With injuries abound for the Chicago Blackhawks, General Manager Kyle Davidson made a move this Saturday morning. The Blackhawks acquired veteran forward Rem Pitlick from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2026 7th round pick.

Pitlick, 26 years old, was playing for the AHL affiliate of the Penguins this season (24 points in 32 games) however has skated for 4 NHL franchises since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2016 by the Nashville Predators.

Pitlick has shown a knack of putting up good offensive numbers in said time to the tune of 54 points in just 123 games played. In fact the last 2 times he played in NHL action he netted 3 points in 2 games against 2 of the leagues best defensive teams (Isles and Bruins).

The native of Ottawa is an undersized forward that provides position flexibility (left shot center or likely wing) and the ability to step into the lineup on any line and help produce scoring chances. The bigger question is; does this mean that news of a bigger injury to either Connor Bedard or Nick Foligno will be announced?

Anyway you look at this deal, much like the trade for Anthony Beauvillier for a 5th round pick, it's a high reward type of move. A 7th round pick isn't much to surrender when receiving at best a decent NHL middle 6 forward or at worst a top 6 AHL veteran ready to help out in Rockford.

I still remember Pitlick having a natural hat trick for the Wild as they welcomed the Seattle Kraken into the league. Will he have this kind of impact with Chicago? That's unlikely, but for a 7th round pick, this is a win-win given the situation that lays before the Blackhawks this weekend.

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