The Blackhawks and Wild Swap Defenceman–Canadiens Pick Up Moore From Panthers.

The Chicago Blackhawks have dealt defenceman Cam Barker to the Minnesota Wild for defenceman Kim Johnsson and 2009 first round pick, defenceman Nick Leddy.  The 23-year old Barker, who is the in the middle of the first year of his three-year, $9.25 million contract has recorded 4 goals and 10 assists in 51 games this season.  Barker, was one of the five players in Chicago whose qualifying offers did not arrive on time last summer.  That led to a grievance being filed by the NHL Player’s Association.  The result was that the Hawks gave Barker a more significant raise then they had to, if the qualifying offers were handled properly.  Since the Blackhawks already have Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell signed to big money, long-term deals, dealing away their commitment to Barker makes financial sense.  Johnsson, who has six goals and eight assists in 52 games this season is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  Leddy has played 19 games with the University of Minnesota, posting 1 goal with 4 assists and 4 penalty minutes.

The Florida Panthers have traded forward Dominic Moore to the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round pick in the 2011 draft.  The trade represents the first for Montreal’s newly-installed general manager Pierre Gauthier, who took over earlier this week when Bob Gainey stepped down.  Moore, 29, has eight goals and nine assists in 48 games for Florida. He is earning $1.1 million this season and becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1.