Blackhawks acquire two draft picks for taking Nikita Zaitsev in trade with Senators

DALLAS — The Blackhawks added two draft picks and an active NHL player in exchange for nothing Wednesday.

General manager Kyle Davidson’s first move of the trade-deadline period couldn’t have turned out much better.

Overpaid veteran defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is the man headed to the Hawks, jettisoned in a salary dump by the Senators. The 31-year-old carries a $4.5 million salary-cap hit through the end of next season.

As a reward for taking him, the Hawks also received the Senators’ second-round pick in this summer’s draft as well as a fourth-round pick in 2026. The trade was officially for “future considerations” — which functionally means nothing.

“We are getting an NHL caliber defenseman and acquiring very valuable draft capital in this upcoming draft and beyond,” Davidson said in a statement. “Nikita gives us added depth on the right side [of the defense], and we anticipate him joining us soon.”

Zaitsev signed with the Maple Leafs as a Russian free agent in 2016 and has played in 426 games for the Leafs and Senators since, including 28 games — with five assists — this season. His analytics have rapidly gone downhill, though; his five-on-five scoring-chance ratio has sat below 47% for four consecutive seasons.

Immigration paperwork may cause a slight delay but he’s expected to join the Hawks soon, per a source.

This story will be updated.