The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired forward Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks in a seven-player trade Tuesday.
"We're very excited to bring Brandon Saad, a 22-year old two-time Stanley Cup champion with great size, speed, power and the ability to score goals, to our organization,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement. "He is a proven winner and exactly the kind of player we want as a Columbus Blue Jacket."
Saad, defenseman Michael Paliotta and forward Alex Broadhurst were traded to the Blue Jackets for forwards Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp and Marko Dano, and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Saad (6-foot-1, 204 pounds) was a part of two Stanley Cup championships in four NHL seasons. He had NHL career-bests of 23 goals and 52 points in 82 games this season, and eight goals and 11 points in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help the Blackhawks win the Cup. As a rookie in 2012-13, he had six points in 23 playoff games during the Blackhawks' Cup run.
A second-round pick (No. 43) in the 2011 NHL Draft, Saad had 52 goals and 126 points in 208 games in parts of four seasons. He can become a restricted free agent if not signed by Wednesday.
Dano, 20, was a first-round pick of the Blue Jackets (No. 27) in 2013, and had eight goals and 21 points in 35 games. Anisimov, 27, had seven goals and 27 points in 52 games. Morin, 24, was traded by the Blackhawks to the Blue Jackets in December for defenseman Tim Erixon; in 43 games with Blackhawks and Blue Jackets, Morin had two goals and six points. Tropp had eight points in 61 games.
Paliotta, 22, made his professional debut April 11 with the Blackhawks. As a senior at the University of Vermont, he had nine goals and 36 points in 41 games. Broadhurst, 22, had 14 points in 29 games with Rockford, the Blackhawks' American Hockey League affiliate.
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