NHL trade grades: Blackhawks resolve logjam by dealing Petr Mrázek to Red Wings
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
Chicago Blackhawks get: Center Joe Veleno
Detroit Red Wings get: Goaltender Petr Mrázek, center Craig Smith
Mark Lazerus: Petr Mrázek was fabulous last season. Behind one of the worst defenses we've seen in the modern NHL, Mrázek kept the Blackhawks competitive more often than not and was far better than his pedestrian numbers would suggest. Combine that with his relentlessly sunny attitude, and it was an easy call for the Blackhawks to sign him to a two-year contract to hold down the net while the Blackhawks waited for either Arvid Söderblom or Drew Commesso to take it from him.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade deadline: Grading every deal completed this trade season
But Mrázek crashed down to Earth this season. He's been the worst goalie in the league since Dec. 1, with an .866 save percentage and a minus-14.95 goals saved above expected, per Evolving Hockey. Söderblom had taken over as the Blackhawks' clear No. 1, so when they acquired Spencer Knight from Florida in the Seth Jones trade, Mrázek was the odd man out. He carries a $4.25 million cap hit, he's signed through next season, and Chicago was out of salary retention spots. A trade seemed like a long shot. So, to get out from underneath that contract less than a week after acquiring Knight — and to get a 25-year-old, controllable former first-rounder in Joe Veleno, to boot — is nifty work by Chicago GM Kyle Davidson.
Advertisement
Veleno will slot in as Smith's replacement in the bottom six. He was underwater in Detroit, with the Red Wings outscored 29-14 at five-on-five with him on the ice. But there's nothing NHL GMs love more than 'change of scenery' trades and reclamation projects with former first-round picks. Veleno has had quite a drop-off after a solid 28-point campaign last season, with his production and his minutes dropping quite a bit. He's got just five goals and five assists in 56 games this season, averaging a mere 11:57 per game. But he'll have a much greater opportunity in Chicago than he had in Detroit. He's worth the flier.
Smith, meanwhile, is a solid depth scorer who's never shy about shooting. At 35, he wasn't in the Blackhawks' plans, but he can provide some depth scoring for a Red Wings team that's hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Mrázek part from Detroit's side is somewhat more confounding, considering he now joins a Red Wings squad that also has two goalies in place — Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon.
Blackhawks grade: A+
Red Wings grade: B-
(Photo of Petr Mrázek: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
27 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Marchand, Bennett too hot for Oilers to handle in Game 5 of Stanley Cup final
EDMONTON - Driving the Florida Panthers attack in the playoffs is a player in his NHL prime and another acting like he is. Sam Bennett, 28, and Brad Marchand, 37, continued to be a lot for the Oilers to handle in the Stanley Cup final in Florida's 5-2 win over Edmonton on Saturday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Marchand scored twice Saturday — Florida's first and third goals — to reach half a dozen goals in the Cup final. Florida's second goal of the game was Bennett's fifth of the Cup final and his NHL-leading 15th of the post-season. The Panthers can close out the series at home Tuesday and become the first back-to-back Stanley Cup champions since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. A new ingredient for the Panthers this post-season, however, is the five-foot-nine, 180-pound Marchand, who Florida acquired at the trade deadline after his almost 16 years with the Boston Bruins. Marchand's six goals was the most by any player in the championship series since Esa Tikkanen in 1988. Marchand, from Halifax, seeks the second Stanley Cup of his career after lifting the trophy with the Boston Bruins in 2011 at the age of 23. He reached another two Cup finals with Boston before he was dealt to Florida this winter. When asked what the 2011 edition of Brad Marchand would say to his 2025 version, he replied 'man, that guy's good looking.' 'Sometimes you get bounces, sometimes you don't but definitely you'd be grateful to be in this opportunity and have another opportunity to be in the finals and be part of a really good team for sure,' Marchand continued. Bennett, from Holland Landing, Ont., pushed his road goal streak to six straight games when he wired a rebound past Edmonton's Calvin Pickard to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead in the first period. A front-runner for this year's Conn Smythe Trophy that goes to the NHL's playoff MVP, Bennett ranks second in post-season in hits (103) to Edmonton's Zach Hyman (111). 'We've talked about it so much,' said Bennett's teammate Sam Reinhart. 'It's just his game translates so well to this time of year. He creates so much room for himself.' Marchand and Bennett each with five, or more, goals apiece in the Cup final are the first teammates to do so since Montreal's Frank Mahovlich and Yvan Cournoyer in 1973. 'They're just certainly capable of processing the context of the game,' Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. 'They don't get too high, they don't go too low. Their energy level is high, and they're very focused on the game. 'There's a mental toughness there, a mental capacity to stay within the game and not try to break it open. Just wait. Patience.' The ageless Marchand scored both his goals off draws that Edmonton won, but he got to the puck first and beat Oilers to the net to score twice. 'What he can do under duress in a small area is world class,' Maurice said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2025.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Oilers fans eyeing a Game 7 comeback
After suffering a tough 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final, the Edmonton Oilers are headed back to the Sunshine State in hopes to tie the series and force a seventh and deciding game. The CBC's Sam Brooks spoke with Oilers fans after the game who haven't lost hope in their team.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Panthers fans celebrate Game 5 win in Florida
Florida hockey fans are fired up after their Panthers clinched that Game 5 win on the road. Julie Wong is in Fort Lauderdale with their reaction.
