The Chicago Blackhawks traded away another veteran before Friday’s 2 p.m. deadline, sending captain Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild and ending the forward’s three-season stint with the team.
Coach Jeff Blashill confirmed the news of the deal, first reported by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and NHL insider Frank Seravalli. Details of what the Hawks received have yet to emerge.
It’s general manager Kyle Davidson’s third deal of the week after sending defenseman Connor Murphy and centers Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach to the Edmonton Oilers in separate trades Monday and Wednesday. The Hawks received a 2028 second-round pick for Murphy and got left wing Andrew Mangiapane and a top-12-protected first-round pick in 2027 for Dickinson and Dach.
Foligno, 38, will be an unrestricted free agent after the season — his 19th in the NHL — and wasn’t expected to return to the Hawks, who are building around young star Connor Bedard. Still, Foligno made clear Thursday his feelings about leading the team.
“I made it no surprise how much I care about this group,” he said, referring to conversations with Davidson. “I believe in this group so much and it’s been an absolute honor to be the captain here.
“There’s a competitor inside you, too, that wants to be playing meaningful games.”
In Minnesota he’ll get to play with his brother Marcus for a team that’s third in the Western Conference with 82 points.
The Hawks acquired Foligno and Taylor Hall in a June 2023 trade with the Boston Bruins, and in January 2024 Foligno signed a two-year, $9 million extension through the 2025-26 season.
He was named the 35th captain in franchise history on the eve of training camp in September 2024. He replaced Jonathan Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup winner who had stepped away from the NHL a year earlier because of health issues.
Foligno had 35 goals and 48 assists (83 points) in 189 games with the Hawks, who finished with the second-worst record in the NHL in his first two seasons. At 23-28-10 (56 points) entering Friday, they’re near the bottom of the league again.
The Ottawa Senators selected Foligno with the No. 28 pick in the 2006 draft, and he played five seasons there, followed by stints with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Bruins before the Hawks acquired him. He spent six years as Blue Jackets captain from 2015-21.
The trades this week mean the Hawks will need all new captains — Dickinson, 30, and Murphy, 32, were the alternates. Bedard, 20, was given the “A” after the Murphy deal, and Tyler Bertuzzi will wear the “A” in Friday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks at the United Center.
Foligno has 608 points in 1,270 career games. He scored his most recent goal, No. 250, on Sunday in Salt Lake City in the Hawks’ 4-0 win over the Utah Mammoth.
Foligno and his dad, Mike, are one of two father-son duos in NHL history to have played 1,000 regular-season games each. Hawks legend Bobby Hull and son Brett is the other.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/chicago-blackhawks-trade-nick-foligno-minnesota-wild/
