Player involved in Marc-Andre Fleury trade signs elsewhere after terminating contract with Vegas

Mikael Hakkarainen, who was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Marc-Andre Fleury trade, has found a team that actually wants him. Hakkarainen expressed frustration recently after finding out he would not be going to Vegas and would instead remain in the Blackhawks system. He was then told he would likely be sent to the ECHL as there was no room for him in Rockford, the Blackhawks AHL team. At that point, Hakkarainen and Vegas mutually agreed to terminate the one year left on his entry-level deal. With the termination completed, Hakkarainen has returned home to Finland.

It has been announced that Hakkarainen, 23, has signed a one-year deal with TPS of SM-liiga, also known as the Finnish Elite League. Hakkarainen was born and raised in Helsinki, so this signing makes a lot of sense.

It's tough not to feel at least a little badly for Hakkarainen and the way he was treated. In a recent interview, he said he was shocked the trade was one-for-one and then quickly realized he was only included because Chicago needed to shed a contract in order to stay under the limit allowed by the league. He was equally shocked when the Golden Knights essentially stated they didn't really want him and he would remain in the Blackhawks' system.

Hakkarainen was a fifth round pick of the Blackhawks in 2018. He had yet to play a game in the NHL and had dealt with a concussion and a broken leg while trying to make his mark in the AHL. He had been in North America since 2015, playing in the USHL until he was drafted by Chicago.

Source: TPS.fi

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