from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

“We have been looking for the right opportunity, and this was one where we were able to add a premier winger with great experience,” said general manager Jim Nill of the deal that brought Sharp and young defenseman Stephen Johns from Chicago in exchange for veteran defenseman Trevor Daley and winger Ryan Garbutt. “Our ownership has made a strong statement that we want to win now, and I think we’ve really helped change some key positions.”

The Blackhawks were open to the deal so they could shed some salary and still fill out a solid roster in defense of their Stanley Cup championship. Nill made that happen by taking all of Sharp’s $5.9 million salary cap hit for the next two seasons, and retaining half of Garbutt’s $1.8 million hit.

Daley has a $3.3 million cap hit, so the Blackhawks save $1.7 million in cap space, while the Stars add $2.6 million. But even with that, Dallas still has about $6 million in cap space remaining and add one of the most consistent playoff performers of the past seven seasons.

read on