Blackhawks trade Nick Leddy to Islanders for 3 players
The Chicago Blackhawks reportedly traded defenseman Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders.
Official: #Isles acquire D Nick Leddy from CHI for D Ville Pokka, D T.J. Brennan and G Anders Nilsson.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) October 4, 2014
The deal was later confirmed by the Blackhawks, with goaltender Ken Simpson also heading to Long Island.
Brennan, 25, brings 40 games of NHL experience to Chicago, with four goals and seven assists with the Sabres and Florida Panthers after being drafted 31st overall by Buffalo in 2007.
Pokke is a 20-year-old second-round pick from the 2012 draft who spent the past four seasons with Finland's Karpat, while Nilsson, 24, is plying his trade for Kazan Ak-Bars over in the KHL after posting a .896 save percentage in 19 appearances for the Islanders last season.
The deal clears Leddy's $2.7-million cap hit off the books for a team desperately in need of a salary dump prior to the start of the regular season.
From the Islanders' side of things, the acquisition of Leddy, coupled with a same-day trade for Johnny Boychuk, further beefs up a roster that had already been strengthened by the signings of goalie Jaroslav Halak and forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin this past offseason.
As a result, the Islanders become a sexy pick to move up the standings this season, with a good chance of returning to the playoffs after a down 2013-14.