It took this long to see a trade go down today?? Better late than never! Chicago has traded Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt to the Maple Leafs for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico, and Philippe Paradis.
In this deal, Leafs GM Brian Burke has acquired the potential top-six winger he has been seeking in Versteeg and a project prospect in Sweatt.
This was another inevitable trade on Chicago’s part, as Versteeg was one of the more expendable players on the roster. Stalberg has good potential, and may thrive playing in Chicago. DiDomenico and Paradis are prospects that will take time before knowing if they fulfill their potential or not.
If everything goes according to plan for Chicago, one of the last moves in their 'cap purge' should be Cristobal Huet heading to Rockford of the AHL.
This is a trade that should help out both sides. Versteeg adds some talent to Toronto’s forward corps, while the ‘Hawks continue to stockpile future pieces.
Versteeg was an important depth player to the Blackhawks’ success over the last couple years, and made some key contributions this past postseason (6 goals, 14 points). He should succeed while presumably getting more ice-time in Toronto.
In about a year’s span, Paradis has gone from being drafted by Carolina late in round one, traded to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty, and now goes to Chicago. Maybe he can finally settle in with the ‘Hawks.
Is this the last move we see from Burke? No. Tomas Kaberle will surely get dealt, and Burke may be able to land another forward in return. I don’t see him being as active in free agency as he could be with trades, but we’ll see in the next 24 hours I guess!
Photo credit: Getty Images
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment