The Chicago Blackhawks' summer of trading continued on Friday afternoon when they sent forwards Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Dennis Robertson, Jake Massie and a 2017 fifth-round draft pick.
For Chicago, the deal is pretty much a straight salary dump and sheds Versteeg's salary cap hit for the 2015-16 season, something that needed to be done not only for the team to get some additional room under the $71.4 million limit, but also so it can re-sign restricted free agent Marcus Kruger.
The Blackhawks owed Versteeg $2.2 million this season.
Versteeg appeared in 61 games for the Blackhawks this past season, scoring 14 goals to go with 20 assists for the Stanley Cup champions. He appeared in just 12 playoff games, scoring one goal and one assist.
Also member of the Blackhawks' 2009-10 championship team, Versteeg was traded after that championship under similar circumstances as the team dealt with a different salary cap crunch. He was reacquired by the team during the 2013-14 season from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forward Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Dylan Olsen. As part of that trade, the Panthers paid half of Versteeg's remaining salary and are still on the hook for $2.2 million against the salary cap this season.
Versteeg and Nordstrom are the latest members of the most recent Cup-winning team to leave this offseason, joining a list that includes Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, Brad Richards, Antoine Vermette, Antti Raanta and Kimmo Timonen. It is a significant turnover for a team that just won its third championship in six seasons, but it has also helped them rebuild their depth with the additions of players like Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt.
In exchange for Versteeg, the Blackhawks receive Robertson and Massie, a duo that has combined for zero NHL games. Robertson, a 24-year-old defenseman, spent the 2014-15 season playing for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League, scoring three goals to go with 14 assists in 57 games in what was his first full year of pro hockey. Before that he spent four years playing college hockey at Brown University.
Massie was the Hurricanes' sixth-round pick, No. 156 overall, in the 2015 draft.
The other player in the deal, Nordstrom, appeared in 38 games for the Blackhawks this past season, recording only three assists.
