Jordan Greenway’s defensive acumen makes him sneaky-smart addition for Blackhawks

While the hockey world erupted into furious debate over the Blackhawks’ blockbuster trade for defenseman Bowen Byram in June, one piece flew under the radar.

Veteran forward Jordan Greenway quietly came to Chicago in the deal. Although his inclusion might have been a salary dump on the Sabres’ end — his $4 million salary-cap hit was outsized for his role in their lineup — it was welcomed on the Hawks’ end.

‘‘Jordan brings a heaviness, a physicality to our group that we could use,’’ general manager Kyle Davidson said afterward. ‘‘He’s a really big body that can get in on the forecheck and make life difficult for opposing -defenders.’’

The Hawks enter this season with two scrappy forwards — Greenway and Andrew Mangiapane — whom contenders were eager to dump last spring but whom they consider to be worthwhile buy-low experiments.

It appears both will have spots in the opening-night lineup. Mangiapane has skated on the third line with Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato so far.

Greenway has skated on the fourth — alongside Ryan Greene and free-agent signing Cole Smith — while playing on the penalty kill, as well.

The Hawks are optimistic about the potential impact on the fourth line, aside from the nickname confusion with two guys called ‘‘Greener’’ skating side-by-side.

‘‘It’s a line I would feel very comfortable putting out against anybody,’’ coach Jeff Blashill said.

You also could say it’s an eco-friendly line. Greenway apparently suggested an alternative nickname — a surely not-work-appropriate one — that Blashill refuses to use.

It’s possible Greenway will end up being the Pat Maroon of this Hawks team. Like Maroon, he’s massive (6-6 and 231 pounds), sometimes silly off the ice and sometimes mean on it.

But it’s also possible Greenway, unlike Maroon, will end up becoming a significant depth contributor for these Hawks.

‘‘I don’t know if it’s unfortunately or fortunately, but I think I’m a little bit older on this team, which is kind of nuts,’’ Greenway said Monday. ‘‘[I’m] just trying to lead these guys, bring some confidence to the squad. On the ice, I’ll continue to do as I do: play a power forward-type game, create some space and bring a physical presence.’’

There was a time during the first chapter of Greenway’s career with the Wild when he formed one-third of one of the most effective shutdown lines in the NHL.

In 2021 and 2022, the Wild trio of Greenway, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno regularly faced opponents’ best players and dominated them. In 749 minutes together across two seasons, that line outscored opponents 45-16 with a 57.6% scoring-chance ratio.

‘‘I’ve been doing it my whole career,’’ Greenway said. ‘‘I enjoy playing against the top lines, trying to shut them down and frustrate them.’’

He was similarly effective in 2023-24 with the Sabres, too, albeit without such consistent linemates. He chipped in 28 points and racked up 141 hits.

Analytics models rated him as one of the best defensive forwards in the league that season, which is worth noting, even though Blashill recently made the case NHL analytics haven’t yet figured out how to evaluate defensive play accurately.

Greenway wasn’t able to maintain that momentum the last two seasons, though. Hernia problems limited him to 74 games, during which his production and ice time declined and his analytics worsened.

He is healthy now, and he’s still in his 20s until February. He’s excited about this new opportunity in Chicago afforded to him by the trade, even if the debate it stirred up didn’t involve him.

‘‘It’s a great group here,’’ he said. ‘‘You can see how motivated the guys are. They’re trying to make a name for themselves and really do some good things. If we can all start off strong from the get-go, if we can find [out] what we need to do early, we’ll be good.’’