The Chicago Blackhawks were expected to be active by the NHL trade deadline, and while they didn’t make as many moves as teams predicted, they did acquire some important pieces as their rebuilding process start in earnest.

In all, the Blackhawks acquired four draft picks in three separate trades, including two first-round picks and a second-round pick who could become a first-round pick.

Here’s a recap of what the moves were and what they mean for the Blackhawks going forward.

Marc-Andre Fleury

The Blackhawks got off to a good start on deadline day by eventually agreeing to a trade that sent Marc-Andre Fleury to the Minnesota Wild.

In exchange, the Blackhawks received a conditional second-round pick, which could be changed to a first-round pick depending on the Wild’s level of playoff success.

The Blackhawks cleared $3.5 million in cap space through the deal. They keep 50% of salary with the Wild, according to CapFriendly, with Fleury’s contract set to expire at the end of the season.

The draft pick the Blackhawks received is for the 2022 NHL Draft and could become a first-round pick if Fleury wins at least four games and the Wild make at least the Western Conference Finals. .

As for the immediate impact on the Blackhawks, general manager Kyle Davidson said Kevin Lankinen will likely make the bulk of the starts for Chicago down the stretch, with Collin Delia serving in a primary backup role.

Arvid Soderblom is expected to stay with the Rockford IceHogs for the remainder of the regular season as the team looks to head to the playoffs.

The other big question, of course, is what the Blackhawks plan to do at goaltending in the future. Lankinen and Delia are both slated for an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and Cale Morris will be an arbitration-eligible free agent at the end of this season.

Soderblom is the only goaltender currently under contract beyond this season, although the Blackhawks also have goaltender Drew Commesso waiting in the wings if they want to sign the Olympian after his season at Boston University ends. .

Ryan Carpenter

A final move came just before the wire on Monday, when forward Ryan Carpenter was reportedly shipped to the Calgary Flames.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Carpenter will head to the Flames in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft:

Carpenter is in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the Blackhawks ahead of the 2019-20 season. That deal pays Carpenter $1 million a year, giving him some value at the trade deadline as teams seek the final six forwards to fill out their rosters.

In his third season with the Blackhawks, Carpenter had three goals and eight assists in 59 games, and also had 36 penalty minutes.

Carpenter was one of the Blackhawks’ most prolific penalty killers, averaging 2:10 of shorthanded ice time per game. He was second only to Sam Lafferty among forwards in this category.

Brandon Hagel

The Blackhawks made the jump to the trade market earlier this month, trading Brandon Hagel and a pair of fourth-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for two NHL players and two first-round picks.

From an on-ice perspective, it almost goes without saying that the Blackhawks gave up a very good asset to Hagel. He scored the team’s second-most goals this season with 21, and he’s gone from a potential fourth line to a player who can fill a second-line role if the need arises.

He did it without ever losing his edge, earning him comparisons to Andrew Shaw and the adulation of Blackhawks fans. It also came with an incredibly favorable deal for the team, which will net him $1.5 million each of the next two seasons, and almost certainly prompted the Lightning to target him via trade.

Financially, the Blackhawks actually take up more room on the salary cap by eliminating Hagel and his $1.5 million cap. Katchouk and Raddysh both earn $758,333, which means the Hawks will have just over $16,000 in overtime as a result of the deal.

Both players involved in the deal could potentially end up in bigger roles with the Blackhawks, as they were likely limited with the Lightning due to the team’s incredible depth.

Taylor Raddysh is a particularly intriguing piece, as his style of play seems to fit a top-six striker. He’s already shown some skill in that area, scoring a goal in his second game with the Blackhawks on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. He also had time on the power play in Derek King’s system.

Boris Katchouk is more of a back-six forward, but he’s already shown good physicality and smart defensive play in his first two games for the Blackhawks, and it will be intriguing to see his deployment over time, especially with Carpenter now shipping. towards the Predators.

As for draft picks, the Blackhawks sent fourth-round picks in the 2022 and 2024 NHL Drafts to the Lightning, but they received first-round picks in the 2023 and 2024 draft.

While some fans may wonder how good those picks could be, especially since they’re both top-ten protected and come from a team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups, the The reality is that the 2023 draft is expected to be a very strong one, which means the Blackhawks could potentially have two first-round picks in a draft show that has been compared to the incredible class of 2015 in terms of value.

That kind of arsenal of draft picks could really help get things started under Davidson’s watch, and having the picks in back-to-back drafts will certainly help.