Chicago Blackhawks acquire 87-point forward from the Toronto Maple Leafs in completed trade today in history

It may have been relatively quiet in the offseason for the Chicago Blackhawks, with the biggest news of the offseason being Frank Nazar's long-term extension, but ahead of the historic centennial season in Chicago, we have an opportunity to revisit past deals that shaped the franchise.

Let's take a look at a trade that went down on this day in hockey history, 38 years ago, between the Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs.

The Blackhawks made the playoffs every year between 1970 and 1997 but didn't manage to win a Stanley Cup in that span.

Following two straight years of disappointing first-round exits, the Hawks' general manager at the time, Bob Pulford, completed a trade with the Leafs.

On September 3, 1987, Chicago sent Ed Olczyk and Al Secord to Toronto for Bob McGill, Steve Thomas, and Rick Vaive:

Olczyk went on to have the most successful career of all the players involved in the trade, notably winning the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994. After retiring in 2000, he turned to broadcasting and currently works with the Seattle Kraken and TNT.

Bob McGill had an impressive run with the Hawks, tallying over 600 PIMs in four regular seasons. In the same span, Steve Thomas also had a big impact in Chicago, notably reaching the 40-goal mark in 1989-90.

As for Vaive, he remained in Chicago for only two years, but fans remember his 43-goal season in 1987-88.

In Chicago, the team didn't win a playoff round until 1989 but reached two straight Conference Finals.

Now, fans can't wait until the team gets back to that level, where Kyle Davidson will be called to bring in key players on the trade market to build a lineup worthy of a top playoff-contending organization.