Aaron Johnson had some good moments with the Hawks last season, and was among the NHL leaders in plus/minus early in the season, but he was a healthy scratch most of the time. The front office snafu involving the signing of eight restricted free agents led to Johnson getting a good pay raise, but then Brent Sopel and Jordan Hendry had better training camps. That left no room for Johnson on the roster, hence the trade to Calgary. It helped the Hawks shed salary and led to forward Bryan Bickell's callup for the Detroit game. They needed another winger with the recent rash of injuries.