The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired forward Anthony Beauvillier from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The Canucks have not retained any of the contract.
Beauvillier played 22 games for the Canucks this year, putting up two goals and eight points in that span. He also had four penalty minutes and a +8 rating. The Canucks are in the midst of a hugely successful season and Beauvillier had been overtaken on the depth chart by other players. He is currently tied for 11th on his former team in points, which is not great when taking into account his $4.15 million cap hit for this year.
Beauvillier was initially drafted by the New York Islanders in 2015 as a highly-touted prospect from the QMJHL. Many scouts had high hopes for him to become a top-six scorer but he never quite got there. He ended up playing for six and a half seasons on Long Island before he was traded to the Canucks in 2019 as part of the Bo Horvat deal.
The 26-year-old winger only ended up playing 55 games for the Canucks. He comes into Chicago as part of the replacement for Taylor Hall, who has a long-term injury and Corey Perry, who had his contract terminated due to an off-ice incident.
Beauvillier is the final year of the three-year, $12.45 million contract he signed with the Islanders. He was only getting about 13 minutes of ice time per game in Vancouver this year which will likely see a large increase when he gets a chance in Chicago’s top-six. He is likely being brought into Chicago to be a steadying force and veteran presence to help insulate Connor Bedard and their other young players.
Over his eight-year NHL career, Beauvillier has scored 113 goals and 237 points in 512 games, along with 29 points in 49 playoff games.
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