The Chicago Blackhawks have traded forward Ryan Garbutt to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jiri Sekac, the team announced Thursday. With the deal sending Garbutt west, the Blackhawks and GM Stan Bowman have now given up on both players acquired in the offseason trade that sent Patrick Sharp to the Dallas Stars. Defenseman Trevor Daley was shipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season in the deal that landed defenseman Rob Scuderi.
Sharp, 34, has 16 goals and 22 points for the Stars, who have turned themselves into the league's premier offensive powerhouse this year. While the Blackhawks, riding a 12-game win streak, aren't necessarily missing Sharp's production - they've got 143 goals for, third in the league - or Sharp's $5.9 million cap hit, this season and next, it is at least interesting to note that both Daley and Garbutt are gone while Sharp continues to fill a similar role to the one he had in Chicago for the Stars. Bowman admitted after the trade to acquire Scuderi that Daley, an offensive defenseman, was miscast as a bottom-pairing defender for the Hawks.
It's also an odd trade, in general but mostly for the Ducks, in that Garbutt is 30 years old, while Sekac is just 23. In 43 games for the Blackhawks this season, Grabutt has just 2 goals and six points. Sekac has appeared in 22 games for the Ducks, posting 1 goal and 2 assists.
