Blackhawks get de Haan from Hurricanes in trade
Hours after introducing center Kirby Dach to Chicago area media, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman acquired defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Aleksi Saarela from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for goalie Anton Forsberg and D-man Gustav Forsling.
The 28-year-old de Haan was the 12th overall pick of the Islanders in 2009 and played five years in New York before going to Carolina in 2017-18. He has just 2 goals in his last 107 games but has blocked 559 shots in his last 261 contests. De Haan is signed through 2021-22 with an average salary of $4.55 million.
The acquisition of de Haan and former Penguins D-man Olli Maatta has upgraded the Hawks' blue line and also gives Bowman some options in the trade market with free agency opening July 1. The Hawks' top nine defenders are now Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Brent Seabrook, Erik Gustafsson, Maata, de Haan, Henri Jokiharju, Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom.
Saarela is just 22 years old and helped the Charlotte Checkers defeat the Chicago Wolves in the Calder Cup Finals. He set career highs in goals (30), assists (24) and points (54) in 69 games. He also scored 7 goals and had 8 assists in 17 playoff games.
Forsberg had a strong season in Rockford, going 15-15-2 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell is currently mulling over whether he should buy out former Hawks netminder Scott Darling, who has two years remaining on his four-year, $16.6 million deal.