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Blackhawks open cap space, send Hossa to Coyotes in complex trade

Plenty of people have made jokes about Marian Hossa’s contract being sent to the Coyotes since it became clear he wouldn’t play for the Blackhawks again. It turns out those jokes ended up being justified.

The deal involves several moving parts, but the key takeaway is that the Blackhawks open up cap space, while the Coyotes reduce headaches regarding hitting the salary cap floor, as Hossa’s salary is comically lower than his $5.275 million cap hit.

Here are the full details of the trade.

Coyotes receive: Hossa’s contract, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle, 2019 third-rounder

Blackhawks receive: Cap relief, Marcus Kruger, Jordan Maletta, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle’s rights, 2019 fifth-rounder

Cap Friendly depicts the sort of loophole Chicago exploited, which the NHL closed up with the most recent CBA.

Old habits die hard

Arizona continues to be the NHL’s answer to a retirement home, and a land of dead money. Hossa’s deal joins Pavel Datsyuk, Chris Pronger, and Dave Bolland as deals that were essentially laundered by the Coyotes. With some of Mike Smith’s salary retained and the Mike Ribeiro buyout in mind, a lot of money is going to people who won’t suit up in 2018-19.

As often as people make jokes about that practice, the Coyotes have been aggressive in at least attempting to improve during the past two summers. This move cements the thought that GM John Chayka has to do.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks open up space to do ... something? This is still a team formatted to win-now, so maybe GM Stan Bowman has more up his sleeves? (Considering their love for reunions, one cannot help but wonder if they might try to get Artemi Panarin back.)

Rundown of other parts

Hinostroza: The 24-year-old forward will begin a new two-year deal in 2018-19, carrying just a $1.5M cap hit.

He’s spent portions of the past two seasons in the AHL and NHL, producing nicely at both levels. During 50 games in 2017-18, Hinostroza scored a point every other contest (seven goals and 18 assists). Hinostroza could be scratching the surface of his potential, as he generated offense despite averaging a mere 13:49 minutes per game.

Oesterle: After playing 25 games over three seasons with the Oilers, Oesterle received a real chance with the Blackhawks, appearing in 55 contests in 2017-18. There were times that he shouldered a considerable role in Chicago, averaging almost 24 minutes per game in January. Overall, he generated 15 points in 55 games, averaged 20:31 TOI, and generally performed reasonably well from a possession standpoint last season.

His $650K cap hit expires after 2018-19.

Ultimately, the Coyotes received the main pieces for taking Hossa’s contract, while Kruger and that cap space rank as the most noteworthy assets for Chicago. (Unless Entwisle turns out to be a gem?)

Kruger: Maybe most importantly, Kruger returns to Chicago with his $2.775M cap hit set to end after next season.

The 28-year-old suffered a rough season, and this marks the third time he’s been traded since July 2017. It’s almost hard to believe that he played for Chicago as recently as 2016-17, as he’s been on a rocky path lately. Maybe Kruger can regain the form he showed winning two Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks as a helpful supporting cast member?

Entwisle: The 18-year-old forward was a third-rounder (69th overall) by Arizona in 2017.

Campbell: The 30-year-old defenseman was drafted in the third round (74th overall) by the Kings in 2008. Campbell’s accrued 42 games of NHL experience, most recently playing five games for Toronto in 2015-16. His longest run came with the Coyotes, when he appeared in 33 games back in 2014-15. Campbell has yet to score an NHL goal, generating two assists.

Maletta: An undrafted 23-year-old forward with marginal AHL stats.

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.