Blackhawks trade Scott Darling to Hurricanes for third round pick

The Chicago Blackhawks traded their goaltender Scott Darling to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Hawks received the Ottawa Senators 2017 third round pick in exchange for Darling, who becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Hurricanes will need to protect Darling from the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft because he has more than two years of NHL/AHL experience. The Blackhawks have $6.0 M per year tied up in goalie Corey Crawford, so there would not have been cap space for Darling, who will want a raise as a free agent.

The 28 year old Darling played in 75 games for the Blackhawks over the past three seasons with a .923 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average. The Hurricanes already have $6.05 M tied up in goalies Cam Ward and Eddie Lack for next season, but have alot of cap space to acquire a perceived upgrade in Darling.