Since late June of 2024, the Chicago Blackhawks have made three trades with the Vancouver Canucks, two of which have worked out very well for Chicago and very poorly for Vancouver.
On June 26, 2024, the Blackhawks acquired Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty, and a 2027 second-round pick from the Canucks in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick. This was a cap-clearing move that the Blackhawks would gladly take on and acquire a good draft pick in the process.
The forgettable and meaningless middle trade between the Blackhawks and Canucks saw Chicago send the signing rights of Ilya Safonov to the Canucks for future considerations. There's no room for Safonov in the AHL with all of the talent the Blackhawks have and still have coming.
The most recent trade between the Blackhawks and Canucks, and the Blackhawks' most recent trade in general, saw the Canucks return that 2027 fourth-round pick to the Blackhawks for Lukas Reichel, who the team just placed on waivers.
So, the Blackhawks gained Mikheyev, who had a career year with Chicago in his first season, Lafferty, and a second-round pick that may be very high, for nothing the Canucks have left.
The Canucks are in last place in the league and just traded their franchise defenseman, so it's not wrong to think that they won't be very good moving forward either, especially with more players that the team has to sell.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game day coverage, player features, and more.