Jets and Blackhawks Swap Young Defensemen
The NHL trade deadline is still two months away, but the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets are finalizing a deal that will see them swap a pair of young blue liners. First reported by Darren Dreger of TSN, the Jets are sending 21-year-old defenseman Dmitry Kuzmin to the Blackhawks in exchange for 23-year-old defenseman Isaak Phillips.
Kuzmin was a third-round draft pick (82nd overall) of the Jets in 2021 and is yet to make his NHL debut. Phillips was a fifth-round pick (141st overall) of the Blackhawks in 2020 and has played 56 games at the NHL level over the span of the last four seasons.
In Phillips’ 56 games with the Blackhawks, he has two goals and 10 assists for 12 total points.
Both Kuzmin and Phillips have spent most of their time in professional hockey in the American Hockey League. Kuzmin with the Manitoba Moose, and Phillips with the Rockford IceHogs.
A solid puck mover in junior hockey, Kuzmin has played 36 games at the AHL level in the last two seasons with seven total points (2G-5A). Phillips has been with the IceHogs since being drafted, playing 199 games with Rockford.
Phillips has played three games with the Blackhawks this season, averaging almost 12 minutes per game and tallying one goal. Each of his games came in early November with his one goal coming in a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
This is likely just the first of many big moves coming for the Blackhawks. With a 14-28-2 record, they are dead last in the NHL with not much looking up for them.