The Blackhawks converted some of their salary-cap flexibility into another upper-end draft pick Friday.
Depth defenseman Riley Stillman was traded to the Canucks for depth forward Jason Dickinson and a 2024 second-round selection.
The pick is the clear prize for the Hawks in the swap. They now own 12 picks in the first three rounds of the next two NHL drafts — two picks in each round of both drafts. As general manager Kyle Davidson continues the franchise’s rebuild with full steam ahead, those picks will provide a steady stream of high-upside prospects.
For the Canucks, the primary motivation is salary-cap savings. Stillman, 24, carries a $1.35 million cap hit for the next two seasons; Dickinson, 27, carries a $2.65 million cap hit for the next two seasons. The Hawks can easily absorb that $1.3 million difference, though, considering they still have roughly $7 million in cap space remaining for 2022-23 (per CapFriendly) and far more for 2023-24.
Stillman finishes his Hawks tenure with 13 points in 65 games since being acquired as part of ex-general manager Stan Bowman’s failed trade with the Panthers for Henrik Borgstrom in spring 2021.
He hadn’t particularly stood out during training camp or preseason this year, and his departure opens another roster spot for one of the Hawks’ NHL-ready prospect defensemen. Isaak Phillips was recalled from the AHL earlier Friday, joining Alec Regula, Alex Vlasic and Filip Roos in the battle for opening-day roster spots.
“[I spent] a lot of time on the ice, working with [our] skills coach, to make plays coming out of my own end, tape-to-tape,” Stillman said earlier in camp. “[I’m] just trying to be clean that way and continue to expand my game.”
Dickinson tallied 11 points in 62 games for the Canucks last season. A first-round pick by the Stars in 2013, Dickinson is a consistent if unremarkable third- or fourth-line center with 74 points in 283 career NHL appearances.
He’ll join a Hawks roster loaded with bottom-six forwards that new coach Luke Richardson has shuffled through various line combinations at will during camp.
