One of the bigger free agents on this summer’s NHL goalie market is already off the board. And the playoffs aren’t even over yet.
Blackhawks trade goalie Scott Darling to Hurricanes for draft pick
Darling hits free agency this summer.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The Chicago Blackhawks got aggressive on Friday night, trading goalie Scott Darling to the Carolina Hurricanes for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Darling becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Until then, the Hurricanes now have exclusive rights to negotiate a new contract with him.
Per Cap Friendly, the Hurricanes have over $16 million in cap space right now to fill with a new Darling contract. The question now is what becomes of current goalies Eddie Lack or Cam Ward. Neither player’s contract is up until after next season, though it’s possible they buy out Lack’s deal after he clashed with head coach Bill Peters this season.
Chicago was never going to re-sign Darling, pressed too tightly against the salary cap. Darling, 28, went 39-17-9 in three seasons with Chicago and would’ve been highly sought after by teams in free agency.
See More:
