The St. Louis Blues announced today that they have acquired goaltender Joe Fallon from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for goaltender Hannu Toivonen and defenseman Danny Richmond. Fallon has appeared in 29 games this season with Rockford of the AHL, posting a 15-10-1 record with a 2.64 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Toivonen has played in 26 games with Peoria of the AHL this season, posting an 11-11-3 record with a 2.73 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Richmond has one goal and 15 assists for 16 points and 135 penalty minutes in 54 games this season with Peoria. This will be Richmond's second stint with the Blackhawks. He played with the team for parts of three seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July 2008. In 49 career NHL games with the Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes, he has three assists and 75 penalty minutes.
This is really just a minor trade for both teams and in no way do I believe it's suggesting the Blackhawks are looking to move a goalie. Both Chicago and St. Louis were likely looking to bolster their AHL affiliates through this trade. Fallon brings promising goaltending depth to the Blues' organization, while Toivonen brings experience to the Blackhawks. Despite showing a lot of promise early in his NHL career, Toivonen has struggled at the NHL level in recent years, having last played in the league during the 2007-08 season. Perhaps a change of scenery will do Toivonen some good. Richmond gives the Blackhawks a very physical defenseman, but given their current depth on their blueline, he likely won't see much, if any, playing time this season.
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