Chicago Blackhawks acquire Calvin de Haan in trade with Carolina Hurricanes

The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired blueliner Calvin de Haan and forward Aleksi Saarela in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night for goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenceman Gustav Forsling, Chicago’s official Twitter account reports.

According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, the deal was likely to clear some cap space for the Hurricanes and may “pave the way for other moves.”

The Hurricanes now have nearly $24.7 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly. However, they have a number of big names unsigned. Finnish phenom Sebastian Aho is the squad’s biggest restricted free agent while Justin Williams, Petr Mrazek, Micheal Ferland and Curtis McElhinney become unrestricted on July 1.

de Haan has three years remaining on his four-year, $18.2 million contract that he signed in July 2018. With an annual cap hit of $4.55 million, he becomes the third-highest paid defender in Chicago.

The 28-year-old appeared in 74 regular season games last year and averaged over 18:30 minutes of ice time a night. The former Oshawa General scored a goal and added 13 assists. He also played in 12 postseason contests, and should provide a shot in the arm to a Chicago penalty kill that finished in the NHL basement during the regular season at a disastrous 72.7%.

Unfortunately, he won’t start the season with the team as he’s expected to miss 4-6 months after having shoulder surgery in mid-May, according to Michael Smith.

Saarela has yet to play an NHL game, but the 22-year-old Finn has put up impressive numbers during his time with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The native of Helsinki scored 30 goals and picked up 24 assists in 69 regular season games. His steady production continued in the playoffs as his seven goals and 15 points in 17 games helped the Checkers win the Calder Cup.

He is entering the final season of his entry-level contract and will become an RFA ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.

Speaking of which, both of the pieces that the Hurricanes acquired in the swap are RFAs this season. Forsling has split time between the Blackhawks and their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for the last three seasons. The 23-year-old Swede wrapped up 2018-19 with three goals and nine points in 43 NHL regular season games.

Forsberg, meanwhile, could become the most interesting part of the deal. With Mrazek and McElhinney’s futures in Carolina unknown, the 26-year-old from Sweden may have the opportunity to steal some time in the Hurricanes’ crease next season.

A draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2011, Forsberg played in 35 of his 45 career NHL regular season games with the Blackhawks in 2017-18 while Corey Crawford battled concussion problems. He posted a 2.97 GAA and .908 SV%.

His performance couldn’t secure him the backup role in Chicago last season, though, as he spent all of 2018-19 with Rockford.

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