Blackhawks News: Three Players traded, and a four-game win streak

Wednesday was a busy day for Chicago; Robert Quinn was traded to the Eagles, and The Blackhawks made a triplet of trades. Kyle Davidson continues to move out players selected by the old regime.

The Trades

The first trade was Riley McKay to the Laval Rocket for future considerations. This is just a move to do right by the player and allows him to get a fresh start. This was a common theme with Davidson trades on Wednesday.

The second trade was one with some significance. Nicolas Beaudin was traded to the Montreal Canadians for forward Cam Hillis. Beaudin was selected in the first round, twenty-seventh overall. He would appear in twenty-two NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks tallying two goals and four assists. Beaudin would find most of his time spent in the AHL in Rockford. Beaudin would never hit his stride and would struggle in the AHL to be a healthy scratch at times last season with Rockford. The draft choice of Kevin Korchinski, along with the emergence of other defensive prospects like Alex Vlasic, Ian Mitchell, Isaak Phillips, Alec Regula, and a few others, made Beaudin expendable.

Beaudin is from Chateauguay, Quebec, so maybe playing for his “hometown” organization is just the thing Beaudin needs the find his game again.

Cam Hillis was a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft. He comes in at 5-foot-10 and is only twenty-two years old. Hillis has only played a single NHL game and didn’t notch a point. Expect Hillis to spend the season in Rockford with the IceHogs.

The third and final trade was once again a player back to his “hometown” team. Evan Barrett was traded to the Flyers for Cooper Zech. Barrett was just electric at the collegiate level. Night in and night out, he played with such intensity. But that has yet to translate to the NHL level.

Cooper Zech is a 5-foot-10 defenseman and will likely slide into the Beaudin slot in Rockford. Zech has yet to see NHL action, and you should expect that to stay the same this season. Cooper Zech could be the second-best name in the Blackhawks system behind Landon Slaggert.

Why did Kyle Davidson make these trades?

These trades weren’t about the return, but Kyle Davidson established that he is willing to do right by the player. This could be the difference in signing the highly touted unsigned NCAA prospect that comes up every season or the high-end European players that the old regime did so well. Davidson is still new, and trades like this help establish the kind of GM you will be. So far an excellent start for Kyle Davidson on the trades front.

The Blackhawks won four straight. Time to panic?

It is too early in the season to look at the “tank standings.” If you look at the underlying stats, the Blackhawks are still being outplayed five on five. If it weren’t for the HISTORICAL start to the penalty kill, the Blackhawks would have easily lost two of the four games. Instead, they have scored four short-handed goals in just six games. This is not sustainable. Also, Alex Stalock will not finish the season with a save percentage over .920, let alone the .938 save percentage he currently has. There’s nothing against Stalock, who has been entertaining to watch, but it’s not in the cards. The Blackhawks will start losing games, which will happen sooner rather than later.

Luke Richardson is the DUDE!

Richardson has this team playing exceptionally well, exceeding expectations. The Blackhawks have something they have not had in a long time, an identity. They are a hard-nosed, never quit kind of team that the opponent will leave knowing they played a hockey game. Richardson has found a way to bring the fire and energy out of every player. Jonathan Toews is off to a fantastic start, the Kane line is starting to click, and the most pleasant surprise is that Philipp Kurashev looks engaged and has been one of the best Blackhawks players to start the season.

It’s only six games, but the change to playing a zone in the defensive zone has made a tremendous difference. The aggressive penalty kill and overall forecheck in the neutral zone make this Blackhawks team hard to play against, and that’s a pleasant surprise to see this season. Richardson is off to a great start but will he continue to bring the best out of players like Kurashev throughout the season? I would believe so.

Enjoy the winning well because it’s only a matter of time before the number in the loss column starts to climb.

Season 2 Episode 10: Is Patrick Kane The Greatest Blackhawks Player Of All Time – Cue The Dagger

In this episode, we discuss if Patrick Kane is the greatest Blackhawks player of all-time, Lukas Reichel’s one NHL game, and his unbelievable shootout goal. We also break down Seattle's chances of making the playoffs, is hitting and fighting making a comeback? and much more NHL news and topics  #Blackhawks #ALLCAPS #NHL #SeaKraken #LetsGoBuffalo 

1. Season 2 Episode 10: Is Patrick Kane The Greatest Blackhawks Player Of All Time 49:41
2. Season 2 Episode 9: Peter Laviolette III 01:11:07
3. Season 2 Episode 8: Hossa Night, Early NHL awards, NHL talk and more 52:12
4. Season 2 Episode 7: Is Toews back? Should Matthews have to fight? and much more! 59:57
5. Season 2 Episode 6: Three Blackhawks trades, Chicago's hot start, around the NHL and more 54:53