BLACKHAWKS: Hawks trade for Samsonov

The Blackhawks rolled the dice Saturday, trading away two disappointing players for someone who had his poorest offensive season since entering the NHL.

Sergei Samsonov, a 28-year-old left wing, comes to the Hawks from Montreal. The Canadiens receive defenseman Jassen Cullimore and left wing Tony Salmelainen in return.

Samsonov has five 20-goal seasons to his credit, but collected only nine goals and 26 points in 63 games last season, his only year with the Canadiens.

Hawks general manager Dale Tallon saw only upside in the acquisition of a former NHL Rookie of the Year.

"We believe Sergei can rebound and give us a spark on the power play," Tallon said. "We feel he has a lot left in the tank, and playing under Denis Savard will bring out the offensive creativity he has shown in the past."

Samsonov scored 29 goals in a season twice, in 2000-01 and 2001-02 for Boston, plus 23 in 2004-05, when he split time between the Bruins and Edmonton.

But he slipped considerably last season, when none of his nine goals came on the power play. Samsonov has 39 career power-play goals, collecting 10 in 2004-05, when he was used as a specialist.

In giving up Cullimore and Salmelainen, the Hawks didn't give up a lot. Cullimore, a 34-year-old whose lumbering style was more attuned to the pre-lockout NHL, was left off the roster often in the final third of the season, and Salmelainen, 25, never lived up to a reputation of being a crafty, speedy player who had been the best European not in the NHL. He had six goals in 57 games last season, while Cullimore scored twice in two seasons.

Cullimore was one of the first players signed by Tallon, who brought him in along with Curtis Brown and Matthew Barnaby before the lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season. None of the three fit the NHL's new style.

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