The Chicago Blackhawks have been in desperate need of forwards recently following a slew of injuries, and they added one on Saturday morning.
Chicago acquired forward Rem Pitlick from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick.
Pitlick, 26, was originally a third-round pick (76th overall) of the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL Draft. He debuted with a single game for the Predators in the 2018-19 season and has appeared in 123 games across four NHL seasons with the Predators, Canadiens and Wild. He has not played in the NHL this season, though, appearing in 32 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, tallying 24 points (8 G, 16 A). The 5-foot-11, 186-pound forward was part of the massive 3-way trade between Pittsburgh, San Jose and Montreal that ultimately sent Erik Karlsson to the Penguins.
Chicago has desperately needed more forwards at the NHL level after a sudden rash of injuries and Pitlick will at least provide some relief there. Pitlick’s career best season was in 2021-22, when he racked up 37 points (15 G, 22 A) in 66 games split between the Wild and the Canadiens. Last season, he had just 15 points in (6 G, 9 A) in 46 games. He’s under contract for the rest of this season at a $1.1 million cap hit and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.