The Blackhawks traded defenseman Henri Jokiharju to the Sabres in exchange for winger Alexander Nylander on Tuesday.
Jokiharju, 20, had 12 assists and a 54.1-percent Corsi rating in 38 NHL games and 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) in 30 AHL games in his first professional season. He played heavy minutes with veteran Duncan Keith on the top pairing, but fell out of favor once Jeremy Colliton took over after Joel Quenneville was fired in November.
The Blackhawks loaned Jokiharju to Finland’s national junior team in Decemeber for the World Junior Championship, where he won a gold medal. He returned for a brief time before being assigned to the AHL. The Blackhawks selected him with the 29th overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft in Chicago.
Small sample, but Jokiharju was great for the Hawks early in the season. Couldn’t get into the lineup after the coaching change & got sent to the AHL. Really nice add for the Sabres. pic.twitter.com/eiIkh15VuA
— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) July 9, 2019
SVP/GM Bowman says acquiring a high-skill, talented player like Nylander for Jokiharju made possible by the development of Boqvist and Beaudin this season.
“The progression of a lot of our younger defenseman…We have a talented stable of good, young players.”
— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) July 9, 2019
Jokiharju is the sixth first-round selection Bowman has made that he’s ended up trading, including Mark McNeill and Phillip Danault (2011), Teuvo Teravainen (2012), Ryan Hartman (2013), Nick Schmaltz (2014) and now Jokiharju.
“Henri is a young, mobile defenseman who has shown he can compete at the NHL level,” Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill said in a release. “His international success last season only furthered his development and we are excited to add him to our current group of defensemen.”
Nylander, 21, had four points (two goals, two assists) in 12 NHL games for the Sabres and 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 49 AHL games for the Rochester Americans. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound winger is a Chicago Mission product and was drafted eighth overall in the 2016 NHL draft in Buffalo. He is signed through the 2020-21 season with a $863,333 salary cap hit.
Bowman: “He’s got the skating and the skill and the stick handling, so I think finding the consistency — it hasn’t quite come together yet for him, but we do see progression in his game and we think we can help him become a consistent performer. A very exciting skillset.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 9, 2019
Stan Bowman on whether Alex Nylander will make the team out of camp: “We don’t hand out those jobs in the summer, but with his offensive talent and skill level, it’s certainly exciting to think of what he could be when you put him with some of the players we have.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) July 9, 2019
Nylander is the son of former Blackhawks center Michael Nylander (1999-2003) and younger brother of Maple Leafs winger William Nylander.
How would you grade this trade for the Blackhawks?
| A | 166 |
| B | 486 |
| C | 806 |
| D | 856 |
| F | 734 |