The Departure of the D-man

This is quite a depressing week for the Chicago Blackhawks. As they have made some major roster changes with the addition of Dan Carcillo, they have lost a very important player. The Blackhawks, in order to free up the cap space, have decided to trade one of their star defensemen Nick Leddy. Leddy was on the Stanley Cup winning team when they won the Cup in 2010 and in 2013. The Hawks traded Leddy to the New York Islanders as well as AHL goaltender Kent Simpson, and they received defensemen T.J. Brennen, Ville Pokka, and the rights to a restricted free agent goaltender Anders Nilsson. It will be an interesting year without the star defensemen but we will have to wait until the regular season to see whether the new players fit well into the Blackhawks system well.