The Chicago Blackhawks traded goaltender Petr Mrázek and forward Craig Smith to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday for forward Joe Veleno.
The 25-year-old Veleno, a left-handed shot, was a first-round draft pick (No. 30) by the Red Wings in 2018. The 6-foot-1 fourth-liner has five goals and five assists in 56 games this season.
Veleno, a native of Montreal, ranked fifth on the Wings in hits (93) and faceoff draws (288), winning 47.2%.
Mrázek and Smith were logical candidates to be moved by Friday’s NHL trade deadline, particularly because it has turned out to be a robust market.
Mrázek, 33, signed a two-year contract extension in January 2024 but was removed from the goalie rotation after the Hawks acquired Spencer Knight from the Florida Panthers on Saturday as part of a package for defenseman Seth Jones.
When asked Thursday if he wanted to be traded, Mrázek told reporters it had to “make sense.”
He returns to the team that drafted him in 2010 and where he played the better part of six seasons.
Smith, 35, signed with the Hawks last summer on a one-year, $1 million deal, joining an influx of veteran free agents recruited to help the team escape the bottom of the standings.
But at 19-35-8 — the league’s second-worst record — entering Friday night’s game against the Utah Hockey Club at the United Center, that plan clearly didn’t pan out. So it didn’t make sense to keep Smith around on a rebuilding team.