Blackhawks Acquire Defenseman Chris Campoli

The Chicago Blackhawks have traded for Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Campoli. Center Ryan Potulny is headed back to Ottawa, and the teams have included conditional draft picks going both ways.

Campoli, 26, is a restricted free agent this summer with a $1.4M cap hit for the current season. He has three goals and 11 assists in 58 games this year. He has also been credited with 73 hits and 70 blocked shots this season, while averaging 18:48 on ice.

Reports are also stating the obvious: Jordan Hendry’s knee injury from Sunday night is serious, and the Blackhawks needed to replace him immediately after Nick Boynton was claimed off waivers. This deal accomplishes GM Stan Bowman’s goal of not taking anyone off the NHL roster and adding a depth player.

This is far from an earth-moving deal, but fills a need. Campoli was averaging 1:41 short-handed and 1:14 with a man advantage this year, meaning he isn’t likely to be a key special teams contributor for the Blackhawks but could fill some ice time if needed.