At the time, the Blackhawks and Panthers’ five-player trade in April appeared designed around giving Henrik Borgstrom a second shot in the NHL.
The Hawks absorbed Brett Connolly’s contract to make it work. They relinquished Lucas Carlsson and received Riley Stillman in a seemingly even but irrelevant swap of depth defensemen. Lucas Wallmark was a throw-in. But acquiring Borgstrom, a former top prospect, seemed like an interesting and worthwhile risk.
Less than a year later, however, Stillman has emerged as arguably the most important part of the trade.
Borgstrom hasn’t made much impact yet in his NHL return. Connolly was just recalled from the AHL for the first time this season on Sunday. Carlsson has looked decent for the Panthers, but in only 10 appearances this season. Wallmark is in Russia. Among the bunch, it is Stillman who has become the most successful every-night player.
In Florida, he often rotated in and out of the NHL lineup, playing in just eight of 40 possible games last season before the trade.
In Chicago, he has played in 29 of 42 possible games, and most of his absences have been because of COVID-19 or injury, not coaches’ decisions. And he still has 2.5 years left — at a $1.35 million cap hit — on the extension he signed over the summer.
The 23-year-old son of former star forward Cory Stillman is not a star himself, and probably never will be, but he has evolved into a reliable role player thanks to his defensive abilities and physicality.
“[The trade] has been great for me, career-wise,” Stillman said Saturday. “It was the best thing that could’ve happened to me, coming in and being given an opportunity to take.”
Stillman’s momentum nearly derailed Nov. 21 against the Canucks, when Erik Gustafsson — with whom he has developed some chemistry on the third pair — fell on the back of his left leg. Stillman immediately left the game, hobbled and in pain; it looked serious.
But after a few days of uncertainty, an MRI on his knee revealed no serious injury after all. He returned to practice just a week later and eventually missed only five games.
“It was touch-and-go at the start, just with getting the brace in and making sure I was feeling good,” he said. “I’m counting my blessings that it was just a short stint.”
With that behind him, Stillman enters the Hawks’ three-game homestand this week allowing the fewest opponent scoring chances and expected goals (per 60 minutes at even strength) among all team defensemen.
Although the Hawks don’t generate much offensively during his ice time, either — and he touts just three points, all assists, to his name — he’s fulfilling his assigned duties well. He also leads Hawks defensemen in hits per 60 minutes. And he’s doing it all with tireless enthusiasm.
“I always say he’s like a junior player,” interim coach Derek King said. “Your first year playing junior hockey, you’re all over the ice and you’re blocking everything, you’re fighting everything, you’re doing anything you can to stay on your junior team. He brings that to our team, and it’s fun to watch.”
Stillman personally believes he’s still developing, still has another level he can reach.
Given his subtle but significant rise in status over the past year, there’s no reason to doubt him. Quietly, he has become one of the Hawks’ more cost-effective additions of 2021.
“To move forward, I want to...grow my game overall so I can be a steady, full-blown defenseman, so I can be in the lineup every day and there’s no question [about it],” he said. “I want to add more offense, being the fourth guy producing and stuff like that. But realistically, I’m focused on taking care of my own zone first.”
Note: The Hawks placed Reese Johnson on injured reserve Sunday with a broken clavicle. Connolly and MacKenzie Entwistle were called up from the AHL; Mike Hardman was sent down.
