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Blackhawks-Panthers trade sends Michael Frolik to Chicago, Jack Skille to Florida

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James O’Brien

It looks like Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon remains on the Chicago Blackhawks’ speed dial list. Tallon sent former 20-goal scorer Michael Frolik along with the rights to goalie Alexander Salak to his former team in exchange for Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan.

This is the second trade of the day between organizations that are quite familiar with each other, as Brian Burke made a deal with his former team the Toronto Maple Leafs while Tallon traded for pieces he largely assembled as the ‘Hawks former GM.

Frolik is probably the centerpiece of this trade. He scored 21 goals in both the 2009-10 and 08-09 seasons. Although he only has eight goals and 29 points in 52 games this season, Frolik has definite “upside” playing on a team flush with talent like the Blackhawks. He only has a 5.6 shooting percentage this season, so it’s quite possible that his scoring slump might have had a lot to do with some bad luck.

Skille is the best player to go Florida’s way in the trade, even if Jessiman was a (comical) first round draft pick as well. Skille has a modest 17 points this season, a career-high for the slowly developing prospect.

Both Skille and Frolik’s contracts expire after this season, so the remaining games on the docket could serve as a crucial tryout for both players. This trade features three first round draft picks: Skille, Frolik and Jessiman. We’ll see which team ends up “winning” in this one; my gut reaction is to say that Chicago got the better of this trade, though.