Stan Bowman made his first major move as general manager of the Blackhawks yesterday before the Olympic trading freeze. The Blackhawks traded defenseman Cam Barker to the Minnesota Wild for veteran defenseman Kim Johnsson and the Wild’s first round pick (16th overall) of the 2009 entry draft, Nick Leddy.
In two hundred games played as a Blackhawk, Barker never really lived up to the hype of being selected third overall in 2004 entry draft. He finished the 2008-09 campaign with forty points in sixty-eight games, and was able to turn that into a three-year contract with a cap hit $3.083M. Barker didn’t get a chance to build off last year playing third pairing minutes.
In Johnsson, the Blackhawks got themselves the veteran defenseman – with a contract that doesn’t extend past the end of this season – they needed. By moving Barker, Bowman made his job easier freeing the organization of a contract with two more years on it. In Leddy, they received a top defensive prospect to go along with Dylan Olsen and Shawn Lalonde.
Anyway you look at this trade, the Blackhawks got what they needed (Johnsson) and more (Leddy) from Minnesota. Barker will have every opportunity to succeed with his new team.
Lineup Moves –
Forward Bryan Bickell was recalled from Rockford this morning. Ben Eager and John Madden were diagnosed with ‘lower-body’ injuries, and both are ruled out for the final two games before the Olympic break.
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