Hawks trade for pesky Perry, hope to sign him before Saturday
Fans were understandably stunned Thursday when the Blackhawks acquired 6-foot-3, 208-pound forward Corey Perry from Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick.
The 38-year-old is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense player who has been a thorn in the side of the Hawks for almost two decades.
But GM Kyle Davidson, who just added Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno via trade, wants to bring in another veteran to help mentor his young roster. Now we'll see if the two sides can agree on a contract as Perry is set to become an unrestricted free agent Saturday.
"Knows what it takes to win, knows what it takes to be a great professional," said Davidson, who noted Perry played for coach Luke Richardson in Montreal in 2020-21. "(Richardson) saw how he worked with some of their young players and he really appreciated that. ... So we're going to try to extract some of that benefit as well."
Perry had 12 goals and 13 assists with the Lightning last season and has 417 goals and 466 assists in 1,257 career games.
Day 2 highlights:
The Hawks drafted nine players Thursday, beginning with 6-foot-3 goalie Adam Gajan at No. 35. The selection might seem odd, considering 2020 second-round pick Drew Commesso could be on the verge of becoming a No. 1 netminder.
But you can never have enough talent between the pipes, and Gajan rocketed up many draft boards after his performance at the 2023 World Juniors. The Slovak had a .936 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average while leading his team to an upset victory over the U.S. and taking gold-medal winning Canada to overtime.
"Loved his play, but it's the athleticism that stood out to us," Hawks GM Kyle Davidson told reporters. "He was able to step into some ... pressure games at World Junior. Actually Connor (Bedard) scored the overtime winner against him - pretty special goal. But Adam kept them in that game and was excellent.
"You look for those key moments for goaltenders to step up and play their best in the big game, and he certainly did that."
The Hawks' other top picks on Day 2 were:
No. 44: Russian Roman Kantserov, a 5-9, 176-pound winger who scored 27 goals in 45 games in the MHL (Russian juniors). "He may not have the best shot in the draft," writes the hockeywriters.com, "but he has top-end hockey IQ, which allows him to make the right play often enough that he can drive scoring chances by himself."
No. 55: Slovakia's Martin Misiak, a 6-2, 200-pound winger who plays for Youngstown of the USHL (juniors). "Strong character guy," writes NHLCSB. "Good skater with quickness and balance. Smooth hands. Excellent work ethic."
No. 67: Ontario's Nick Lardis, a 5-11, 165-pound forward who scored 25 goals in only 33 games for the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs.
Seven of the Hawks' nine picks were forwards.
Slap shots:
The Hawks acquired Josh Bailey from the Islanders then placed him on waivers to buy him out. The Islanders gave the Hawks a 2026 second-round pick to get Bailey's $5 million cap hit off their books. ... The Hawks traded the 51st overall pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the Flyers' 167th pick and a second-rounder in 2024. ... GM Kyle Davidson said Philipp Kurashev is the Hawks' only restricted free agent who will receive a qualifying offer. ... Elmhurst's Joey Willis was drafted by the Nashville Predators at No. 111 overall.