Breaking: Blackhawks and Coyotes have made another trade!

We appear to have a late night trade on Sunday in the National Hockey League.

According to a break news report from Sportsnet's NHL insider Elliotte Friedman it appears that the Chicago Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes have once again connected on a trade deal. This time around it will be Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Schmaltz going to Arizona with what sounds like multiple pieces going back the other way. We don't have the full details of what Chicago will be getting in return for this deal but according to Friedman it sounds like Coyotes forward Dylan Strome will be one of the pieces involved in the deal.

The move comes as little surprise as just earlier today we reported on the fact that Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman was very much trying to shake some life into his roster via a potential trade. Bowman admitted that he had been working on a deal and even added that talks had picked up significantly over the past 10 days which led us to believe that there was a trade on the horizon. Additionally we even speculated on the fact that Schmaltz would be the piece most likely to be moved by the Blackhawks due to both his contract status as well as the fact that he had been linked to nearly every significant rumor involving the Blackhawks thus far.

Through 23 games with the Blackhawks this season the 22 year old former 1st round pick (20th overall) in 2014 has 2 goals and 9 assists for a total of 11 points and a plus minus rating of -4.

Although I can't possibly know the motivations of Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka in this deal I suspect that they are very similar to the ones that motivated Bowman. After a relatively solid start to the season the Coyotes have regressed considerably and I would not be the least bit surprised to learn that Chayka was attempting to light a fire under his team with this move. 

Strome. also a former 1st round pick (3rd overall) in the 2015 NLH Entry Draft, played in 20 games for the Coyotes this season recording 3 goals and 3 assists for a total of 6 points and a plus minus rating of -10

Update: The Blackhawks will also be getting former 1st round pick (12th overall) Brendan Perlini as part of this deal. The 22 year old winger has appeared in 22 games for the Yotes this season recording 2 goals and 4 assists for a total of 6 points and a plus minus rating of -4/

This is a developing situation so please stay tuned for updates as they will be made available.

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