CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks traded Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders on Saturday, parting with the young defenseman in order to move under the salary cap by Tuesday’s deadline for the start of the regular season.
The Blackhawks also signed forward Daniel Carcillo to a one-year contract and assigned forward Teuvo Teravainen and defenseman Klas Dahlbeck to Rockford of the American Hockey League. Teravainen is one of the team’s top prospects, but he is blocked by a group of talented forwards on Chicago’s top three lines.
Leddy, a solid skater and passer, had seven goals and 24 assists in 82 games for Chicago last season. He has played in 258 regular-season games and made 54 postseason appearances — all coming before his 24th birthday in March.
Losing Leddy, who was selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 2009 draft and traded to Chicago in February 2010, is a blow for the Blackhawks, who were about $2 million over the salary cap before the trade. But they managed to keep their top two defensive pairings together, and it looked as if Leddy’s play frustrated coach Joel Quenneville on occasion.
Leddy, a native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was benched for a playoff game last season against the Wild. The Los Angeles Kings’ winning goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference final went off Leddy’s upper body and past goaltender Corey Crawford.
The Blackhawks also sent goaltender Kent Simpson to New York for defensemen T.J. Brennan and Ville Pokka and the rights to restricted free-agent goaltender Anders Nilsson. Brennan and Pokka were assigned to Rockford, and Nilsson will stay with Ak Bars of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Pokka was considered one of New York’s top prospects. The 20-year-old was selected by the Islanders in the second round of the 2012 draft.
Carcillo played for Chicago for two seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2013, before he was traded to Los Angeles in July 2013. He played for the Kings and New York Rangers last season, finishing with four goals, one assist and 100 penalty minutes in 57 games.
Carcillo, who was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2003 draft, has 1,179 penalty minutes in 390 career games. He also has seven goals and seven assists in 45 career playoff appearances.
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