The Chicago Blackhawks have traded defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to the Arizona Coytoes for Defensemen Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin.
Thoughts from the media …
Chris Johnson: “There’s no salary retained in the Niklas Hjalmarsson deal.”
Corey Pronman: “Laurent Dauphin was a good prospect at one point, but now he’s mostly a depth piece. Has a nice skill level though.”
Craig Morgan: “D Niklas Hjalmarsson can play both sides but has played a lot on the right side for Chicago. IMO, a highly underrated defenseman.”
Dan Rosen: “Hjalmarsson, 30, has 2 years with a $4.1M cap hit left. Murphy, 24, has 5 years with a $3.85M cap hit. Dauphin, 22, is 1 yr and $745K left.”
Cap Friendly: “If Dauphin plays next season in Rockford, the #Blackhawks will end up saving $250,000 in cap space with the Hjalmarsson/Murphy swap.”
Dan Rosen: “This isn’t a cap savings trade for the Hawks. It’s an age savings. They go from a 30-yr old D to a 24 yr-old D. Dauphin, 22, has promise.”
Andy Graziano: “Hawks don’t save any money, but get much more snarl in Murphy. Huge kid.”
Brian Hedger: “Murphy is 6-4, 212, 24-years old, right-hand shot & was the captain of the U.S. team at @2017IIHFWorlds”
Tracey Myers: “If I announce, “hey we just traded Hjalmarsson” to a Chicago crowd, guessing the reaction would NOT be a pleasant one.”
Todd Cordell: “This…this is a really, really, really good trade for Arizona.”
David Johnson: “I love Hjalmarsson and he will help ARI but they should be acquiring younger players. For CHI, are they starting a rebuild or retooling?”
