After going undrafted in the 2010 NHL entry draft, Artemi Panarin faced a very tough decision. While some undrafted players choose to give up on their dream of playing professional hockey, others–like Panarin–use it as motivation to prove the 30 NHL teams who passed on him wrong. Panarin evolved into one of the KHL’s leading scorers, accumulating 183 points in his 263-game KHL career. Before his arrival in Chicago, Panairin scored an impressive 62 points in 54 games. Needless to say, he was a highly sought after player when his contract expired. In interviews Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman talked about how competitive the process was to corral Panarin, having to battle other large-market, offensively gifted teams like the LA Kings and New York Rangers in order to convince Panarin that Chicago was the best fit for his skills. Bowman talked about strategies teams would use to sway Panarin in their favor such as flying in star players and talking to him in his native language. As all Blackhawk fans know, Panarin took the league by storm after being acquired and proved to be a lethal scoring threat.

To the astonishment of many Blackhawk fans, Panarin was traded during the off season to the Columbus Blue Jackets for former Hawk Brandon Saad and goaltender Anton Forsberg. This move left many Blackhawks fans and members of the organization questioning the necessity of the trade, especially since Panarin accepted less money to stay in Chicago. Some fans also wondered why the Hawks were trading for Saad who had been traded away just a few summers before. But believe it or not, this deal actually might work in the Hawks’ favor. Before leaving Chicago, Saad had established himself as a talented, homegrown left winger. He also developed a fair amount of chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. So, when Saad was traded–just like Panarin–Toews and Kane were disappointed in the Blackhawks organization and became concerned about how they could recreate their previous chemistry. With Kane and Toews by his side, Saad won 2 Stanley Cups, while Artemi Panarin won only individual accolades.

Saad’s time in Columbus was difficult to say the least. He struggled to see eye to eye with Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella and felt continually misused. Although Saad spent a considerable amount of time on the Blue Jacket’s 4th line, he managed to produce at a higher level than when he played in Chicago. Saad accumulated 106 points in just 160 games with the Blue Jackets, while he only scored 126 points in his 208 games as a member of the Blackhawks. Now that he has returned to Chicago, Hawks fans shouldn’t be surprised to see Saad put together a record season.

The departure of Hawks goaltender Scott Darling, who established himself as a starting goalie with his strong performance last year, left an open void at the backup goaltending position that Hawks brass didn’t feel that they had the personnel to accommodate. So, while most fans are focused on the Saad-Panarin swap, they seem to be forgetting that there was another player included in the deal. Goaltender Anton Forsberg was just rated by NHL Network as one of the top up-and-coming goaltenders in the league, just behind former Blackhawk Antti Raanta and Tampa Bay Lightning phenom Andrei Vasilevskiy. In his 3 seasons in the AHL minor leagues, the 24 year-old accumulated a 70-35-10 record and won the Calder Cup (The AHL version of the Stanley Cup) with the Lake Erie Monsters. Although Darling is a tough loss, the Blackhawks have acquired a talented young player whose best days are, most likely, still in front of him. If Forsberg progresses the way that he should, don’t be surprised to see him take the reigns from Corey Crawford in the upcoming seasons.

Although the offseason departures of Artemi Panarin and Nicholas Hjalmarson were difficult for Hawks fans to stomach, the trades have prepared the team for the future. In acquiring a young and talented defensemen and goaltender, the Hawks now posses some of the most sought after commodities in the NHL. However, given their current salary cap position and recent trades, don’t be surprised if your favorite player is the next to leave.