The Chicago Blackhawks selected phenom Connor Bedard of Vancouver, British Columbia first overall in the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft on Wednesday. Over the last week, the organization has brought in four veteran players through three trades in an attempt to be very competitive this upcoming season.
Who are the four?
On Monday, the Blackhawks acquired left winger Taylor Hall of Calgary, Alberta and right winger Nick Foligno of Buffalo, New York from the Boston Bruins. On Thursday, Chicago acquired centre Josh Bailey of Bowmanville, Ontario from the New York Islanders and Corey Perry of Peterborough, Ontario from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hall, Foligno, Bailey and Perry have combined for 62 years of NHL experience, and it will be interesting to see how this quartet will be used. It will also be interesting to see who will play on the same line as Bedard, who is without a doubt a generational talent.
Hall had 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 61 games with Boston in 2022-23. He was a +11 with 24 penalty minutes, with eight power play points, five game-winning goals, 150 shots on goal, four faceoff wins, 33 blocked shots, 35 hits, 24 takeaways, and 41 giveaways. While with the Devils in 2018, Hall won the Hart Trophy.
Foligno had 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 60 games with Boston in 2022-23. He was a +18 with 45 penalty minutes, five power-play points, one game-winning goal, 71 shots on goal, 40 faceoff wins, 29 blocked shots, 147 hits, 21 takeaways and 18 giveaways. Foligno’s game-winning goal came in a 3-2 Bruins win over the Winnipeg Jets on December 22 from Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic.
Bailey was with the Islanders for 15 full seasons. In 64 games this past season, he had eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points, and was a +3 with two penalty minutes, two game-winning goals, three-power play points, 72 shots on goal, 40 faceoff wins, 31 blocked shots, 11 hits, 21 takeaways, and 47 giveaways.
Perry won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007 and Hart Trophy in 2011. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with three different teams from 2020 to 2022. This past season, Perry had 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 81 games with Tampa Bay. One area of concern though is that he was a -28. Perry also had 95 penalty minutes, 12 power-play points, three game-winning goals, 25 blocked shots, 48 hits, 30 takeaways and 26 giveaways.
What did the Blackhawks have to give up in return?
The Blackhawks traded defensemen Ian Mitchell of St. Albert, Alberta and Alec Regula of West Bloomfield, Michigan to the Bruins. Mitchell has four goals and 12 assists for 16 points over 82 games in three seasons with the Blackhawks. Regula has one goal in 22 games over the last three seasons. Chicago meanwhile traded a seventh round pick in 2024 to Tampa Bay to acquire Perry.
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