It's not often, if ever, one team acquires as many as six players from one former NHL club, never mind a half-dozen from two teams that have a bitter rivalry.
The Chicago Blackhawks have done just that in bringing in a whole cast of players who used to play for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs or both Original Six clubs.
While only six of these players were on the Blackhawks last season, it remains to be seen exactly how much of a positive impact this will have on the team going forward. An immediate upside is that the players who have played on the same team before are familiar with each other and it helps the new faces in Chicago have an easier transition.
Many of these players who used to skate for one or both of the Bruins or Maple Leafs have been through at least one of the grueling first-round, seven-game series between Boston and Toronto. There have been three Bruins Game 7 first round wins over the Maple Leafs in the past seven seasons.
Abundance of ex-Bruins and ex-Leafs
The group of ex-Bruins includes Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno, Ryan Donato, Pat Maroon and Craig Smith. The group of former Maple Leafs consists of Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev, Foligno, Petr Mrazek, TJ Brodie, Joey Anderson and Brett Seney.
Only Bertuzzi and Foligno have played for Boston and Toronto. Among these players, Hall, Foligno, and Maroon have gone from playing on the Bruins to the Blackhawks right after the other. As for former Leafs players, Bertuzzi, Mrazek, Brodie, Anderson and Seney have all done so.
Hall scored two goals and four points in 10 games last season for the Blackhawks and should assume his spot on the top line next season now that he is healthy. Bertuzzi is coming off a 21-goal, 43-point campaign with the Maple Leafs as he joins Chicago's top-6 forwards. Foligno played higher up in the Blackhawks' lineup last season, but with the added talent and him being 37 years old, it's likely the veteran leader who produced 17 goals and 37 points finds himself mainly in the bottom-6 next season.
Donato was up and down the Blackhawks lineup in 2023-24, scoring 12 goals and 30 points, but should be in the bottom-6 this coming season. Maroon was a fourth-liner in Boston with four goals and 16 points and should be so again in Chicago. Smith will be in a similar role after a fourth line role in Dallas scoring 11 goals and 20 points.
Mikheyev is coming off a down season in Vancouver, scoring 11 goals and 31 points. He may fit in on the third line at most with the other talent keeping him out of the top-6, but general manager Kyle Davidson likes his upside.
Mrazek was arguably the team MVP in Chicago last season with his .907 SV% in 56 games on the second-worst team in the league. He'll be starting once again, but has some competition in net now.
Brodie is moving from a top-4 defenseman on the Maple Leafs to a bottom pairing player after scoring one goal and 26 points. He was a very solid add and can relieve pressure from the top two pairings.
Anderson split last season between the AHL and NHL, logging the majority of games on the Blackhawks, but with competition for playing time, he may be able to get into half the games next year at best. He scored five goals and 17 points, but led the Blackhawks in +/-. Seney isn't a factor in the NHL, but a great veteran AHLer to have. He scored 23 goals and 63 points last season for the Rockford IceHogs and played four games for Chicago.
Blackhawks Won Deals to Bring in Players
The Blackhawks have acquired all of these players in one of two ways. Hall, Foligno, Mikheyev, Mrazek, and Anderson have all come by way of trade, and what the Blackhawks had to give up for all of them combined is shockingly very little.
What it cost to acquire Hall and Foligno was just Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula. Mikheyev cost Chicago a 2027 fourth-round pick, but since it was a cap dump by the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks received a 2027 second-round pick and the signing rights to Sam Lafferty as well. Lafferty went on to sign with Buffalo.
The Blackhawks were able to bring in starter Mrazek and a 2022 first-round pick (25th overall) for a 2022 second-round pick (38th overall) in another cap dump situation. Anderson was part of the biggest deal and was the only signed player brought back from the Maple Leafs, which also included a 2025 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick, and signing rights to Pavel Gogolev in exchange for Jake McCabe, Lafferty, a 2024 fifth-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
All of the other players either signed as free agents this year (Bertuzzi, Maroon, Smith, Brodie) or prior to 2024 (Donato, Seney). Whether all of these players who formerly played for the Bruins or Maple Leafs work out this season, the Blackhawks are without a doubt an improved team and one to watch out for as they make a push to return to the playoffs.
