Blackhawks Trade the Saad-Father To Columbus

We all knew it was coming.  The Blackhawks were going to break up the championship team due to the cursed salary cap.  No one thought it would begin though with trading one of its youngest stars, Brandon Saad, to the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

 

The Blackhawks traded Saad, along with minor league defenseman, Michael Paliotta and forward Alex Broadhurst for forwards Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp and Marko Dano, and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

The two key players that the Blackhawks get in return are Anisimov and Dano.  Anisimov is a 27yr. old, 6ft 4in, 200 lb. center that the Blackhawks have lacked for many years.  A big center that plays a 2-way game, that Stan Bowman has high regards for.  With the signing of Anisimov, Vermette and possibly Richards may not be back in Chicago next year.  Dano is a 20 yr. old, 1st round pick of the Bluejackets in 2013.  He debuted last year and in 35 games had 21 points.  For being so young, he plays a very good defensive game (something that Quenneville thrives on from his players).

The puzzling piece of this trade is the return of Morin.  He was always in Quenneville's doghouse for multiple reasons.  Morin had some parting shots at the Blackhawks organization about ice time.  Now he finds himself back again.  One wonders that if Bryan Bickell can be traded, Morin would slip into his spot.  Both players would replace the other when not in Quenneville's doghouse.

Time will tell what other events will happen before opening night in October, but Blackhawk fans are feeling the pains once again of what the salary cap does to a good team.  Don't jump off the ledge yet, this isn't as bad as it seems.  Bowman's track record has been amazing for rebuilding this franchise while still being incredibly competitive.  The core is still intact (Toews, Kane, Keith, Hossa, Seabrook, Crawford).