Prompt 1 / Written Task

The worst trade the Chicago Blackhawks have made in recent memory was when the Blackhawks traded forward Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Panarin was emerging as one of the Hawks best forwards, and it was clear that Panarin had great chemistry with Patrick Kane. After a decade of a lot of success, the Hawks core was aging, and it was certainly refreshing to see a player like Panarin come in and show some scoring capability at such a young age.

Then, the Blackhawks made the surprising move to trade Panarin for Brandon Saad and Anton Forsberg. I understand the Toews and Kane contracts made it tough to sign anyone else, but it really looked like Panarin was worth signing to a long term deal to be that next go-to forward for the franchise.

Fast forward, and the Blackhawks have been struggling while Panarin has consistently shown he is an offensive weapon. All in all, it just seemed that the trade was reactionary and did not make much sense for the Blackhawks.