The trade is a stunning midseason swap of point-per-game players in their primes, an anomaly in the NHL trade market in the salary-cap era.

Getting a 3rd round pick from the Hurricanes gives the Blackhawks nine total selections in the upcoming draft.

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs for six straight years, with two of those pushes reaching the Eastern Conference Final. But they’re still looking for a breakthrough to the Stanley Cup Final in this current run under coach Rod Brind’Amour.