A Look Back At Some Of The Best Trades For The Blackhawks

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Michael
May 10, 2022 (2:13)

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At this year's trade deadline, the Blackhawks were one of the more active teams in the NHL. The Blackhawks dealt three players being Brandon Hagel, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Ryan Carpenter. And going back a bit before the deadline, the Blackhawks went out and acquired Sam Lafferty via trade from the Pittsburgh Pengiuns in exchange for Alex Nylander. What a win-win trade that one turned out to be.

So while none of these trades are "blockbuster" trades by any stretch (sure Fleury, but it wasn't a blockbuster trade in favor of the hawks), it got me thinking, what are some of the better trades in Blackhawks history? There are so many good ones that it's really impossible to go through them all, so let's just take a look back at three really good trades in Blackhawks history.

1) Blackhawks trade Hank Bassen, Forbes Kennedy, Bill Preston and Johnny Wilson to the Red Wings in exchange for Glenn Hall and Ted Lindsay

This trade came following Glenn Hall's rookie season, in which he won the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL. As you probably already know, Hall would go on to win the 1961 Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. He would play a total of 10 seasons in Chicago. His number 1 jersey is now hanging from the rafters in the United Center.

2) Blackhawks trade Matt Ellison and a third-round pick to the Flyers for Patrick Sharp and Eric Meloche

Mid-way through the 2005-2006 season was when this trade occurred. Patrick Sharp's best season in Philadelphia saw him total 31 total points with 14 goals and 17 assists. For perspective on how good he was once he showed up in Chicago, his best season as a Blackhawk he totaled 78 points with 34 goals and 44 assists. Patrick Sharp turned out to be one the most important pieces of the Blackhawks dynasty.

3) Blackhawks trade Alexander Karpovtsev to the Islanders for a fourth-round pick....... that turned out to be Niklas Hjalmarsson

If you have heard the Pat Foley rant on Alexander Karpovtsev, that about sums up his time in Chicago. He was hardly ever on the ice, and when he was, he was hardly ever productive. Any hockey fan would take a player like Hjalmarsson on their team over a guy like Karpovtsev. On top of that, no one expected Hammer to become the player he was as a fourth round pick. The Blackhawks really gave up nothing for a lot with this trade.