Hey, Eddie, do you know the way to San Jose?
You do now.
The Blackhawks finalized a trade of goaltender Ed Belfour to the San Jose Sharks at 2:38 a.m. Saturday for right wing Ulf Dahlen, defenseman Michal Sykora, goalie Chris Terreri and a conditional second-round draft pick in 1998.
Belfour, who was slated to start Friday night, was told by Hawks management to stay home from their game against Toronto at the United Center. The Sharks requested that Belfour not play.
The Hawks recalled Jimmy Waite from Indianapolis to back up Jeff Hackett against the Leafs, who registered a 2-1 overtime victory.
“I do know this is the best deal we could make,” said Hawks General Manager Bob Pulford, who added that Hackett had signed a three-year contract extension Saturday. “Eddie’s been a great goaltender for us. I appreciate everything he’s done for us.”
The trouble the Hawks had with Belfour, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, is that he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season and he believed he was worth $4 million a year.
“We didn’t think we’d be able to sign him,” said Pulford. “We’d probably end up with nothing.”
Hawks players were told nothing before or after Friday’s loss. They chartered to New York for Saturday night’s game against the Islanders immediately after Friday’s loss.
“We pretty much figured it out with them bringing Jimmy here and Eddie’s equipment being gone,” said defenseman Keith Carney.
Belfour, 31, is 11-15-6 this season with a 2.69 goals-against average. He’s the third-winningest goalie in Hawks history at 201-138-56 with 30 shutouts.
Dahlen, 30, has eight goals and 11 assists in 43 games. Sykora, 23, has two goals and five assists in 36 games. Terreri, 32, who lost to New Jersey 3-1 Friday night in San Jose, is 6-10-3 with a 2.79 goals-against average.