Just over 24 hours until the NHL trade deadline, the Chicago Blackhawks have made their first move of the frenzy. According to multiple reports, the Blackhawks are sending Anthony Beauvillier to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Beauvillier originally came to the Blackhawks on November 28, 2023 in a trade with the Canucks that saw Chicago send their 2024 fifth-round pick Vancouver’s way.

Beauvillier registered two goals and eight points in 22 games with Vancouver to begin this season, and then another two goals and six points in 23 games with Chicago. So at the very least, he’s consistent. The former 2015 first-round pick moved all over the lineup for Chicago, playing anywhere from the fourth line with Boris Katchouk and MacKenzie Entwistle, to the top line with Philipp Kurashev and Connor Bedard. But he hasn’t been able to tap into what made him a 40-point player last season in Vancouver, or a 20-goal scorer in his second NHL season with the Islanders in 2017-18.

The 26-year-old heads to the Predators and is reunited with his former New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, now the GM in Nashville. Beauvillier’s contract expires at the end of this season and he will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

The Predators currently sit in the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference with a 35-25-3 record and are six points clear of the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken behind them in the wildcard chase. Chicago remains in last-place in the NHL, so don’t worry about that.

With the addition of the Predators’ 2024 fifth-round pick, the Blackhawks now have nine picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, with seven coming in the first three rounds.

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