Blackhawks ship Versteeg to Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

06/30/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Battling against the salary cap, the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks have traded gritty forward Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a five-player deal.

The Maple Leafs also acquired the rights to forward Bill Sweatt while sending Chicago forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

Versteeg, who burst onto the hockey scene with 22 goals and 31 assists in 78 games as a rookie in 2008-09, recorded 20 goals and 24 assists in 79 regular season games this past season while adding 14 points in the team's run to the Stanley Cup.

The 24-year-old had recently signed a three-year contract last offseason after being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, but the Blackhawks were forced to make some roster moves due to the restrictions of the salary cap.

Versteeg moves to a team that is in desperate need of his offensive skill. The Maple Leafs, who finished with the league's second worst record at 30-38-14, scored only 214 goals last season, which was 13th out of 15 Eastern Conference teams.

Sweatt, 21, was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2007 and has spent the last four seasons playing for Colorado College. Last season, in 39 games, he registered 15 goals and 18 assists.

Stalberg, a sixth-round pick in 2006, split last season with the Leafs and the club's AHL affiliate. In 40 NHL games, he registered nine goals and five assists.

DiDomenico was a sixth-round pick of Toronto in 2007 and played only 12 games last season, all for the Drummondville Voltiguers of the QMJHL. Despite the limited action, he registered seven goals and 15 assists.

Paradis will move on to his third organization after being sent to Toronto last season from Carolina for Jiri Tlusty. He finished the season with two assists in four games with the Leafs' AHL affiliate after registering 24 goals and 20 assists in 63 games with the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes.

The 19-year-old Paradis was originally the 27th overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Hurricanes.

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