Blackhawks get disgruntled forward Anthony Duclair from Coyotes

ByGreg Wyshynski ESPN logo
Thursday, January 11, 2018

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired disgruntled winger Anthony Duclair from the Arizona Coyotesafter he reportedly requested a trade from the team.

The Blackhawks shipped forwards Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin to the Coyotes for Duclair and defenseman Adam Clendening.

Duclair, 22, has 15 points in 33 games with the Coyotes this season. A restricted free agent come summer, Duclair wanted out from Arizona because he was relegated to playing 13:27 per game, but has tremendous potential: He's two years removed from a 20-goal, 24-assist season for Arizona. Duclair was originally drafted 80th overall by the New York Rangers in 2013.

"There's a lot of things that go into a trade," Coyotes general manager John Chayka said Wednesday. "Some of them are readily apparent. You see Anthony play and his speed and skill is obvious to everyone. There's some things that I think should stay behind closed doors. It was a long process. We went through a lot of different approaches and a lot of different things through two different [coaching] staffs here, and at the end of the day just felt that for both sides it was best to move on."

"It's gone back for a few years now where the team wasn't particularly happy with the player and the player wasn't particularly happy with the team and we worked through some things, tried a lot of different approaches in a lot of different ways," Chayka added. "I hope he has success in Chicago and does good things."

Duclair's agent, Kent Hughes, said: "I think we are on the same page in terms of a trade being best for both sides. John was great to deal with, and Anthony hopes the trade ends up working out for both sides."

Panik, 26, had six goals and 10 assists in 37 games for the Blackhawks in 2017-18. He was seen as a disappointment for Chicago this season, having gone 11 straight games without a point during one stretch after earning a two-year contract extension worth $2.8 million against the cap following a 22-goal season in 2016-17.

"I guess they weren't happy with my performance," Panik said of leaving the Blackhawks.

Panik's new team sees plenty of potential.

"Richard Panik is a big, skilled winger who is an excellent goal scorer," Chayka said. "He's also a strong two-way forward with great speed and provides a veteran presence. He will be a nice addition to our forward group."

Dauphin, 22, was traded from the Coyotes to the Blackhawks in June, in a deal that brought defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to Arizona.

"We are pleased to re-acquire Laurent Dauphin," said Chayka. "He's a good skater and a reliable player with a lot of upside. We're happy to have him back."

Clendening played four games for the Blackhawks in 2014-15. Since then, he has played for five different NHL teams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.