Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings combine for an Original Six trade today in hockey history

The deal landed Adam Brown and Ray Powell in Chicago after Detroit moved on from Pete Horeck and Leo Reise Jr. That swap on a Monday in 1946 carried real weight because each player filled a specific need for teams that fought for every inch of ice.

Brown arrived with a reputation for speed and punch. The winger, born in Scotland and raised in Canada, delivered 44 points in the 1943 season, according to NHL records, then followed with 32 the next year, numbers confirmed through two league statistical archives.

Those totals made him an attractive option for a Chicago roster trying to generate more controlled entries and second chances around the crease.

Ray Powell, only 21 at the time, brought a different profile.

He played a steadier two-way game, tracked well in transition, and gave Chicago another young forward with upside.

His production was still developing, but scouts repeatedly pointed to his strong edgework and early scoring instincts.

Detroit targeted help down the middle and on the blue line. Pete Horeck, who produced 20 goals in the 1945 season per dual-source validation, became a useful depth scorer for the Red Wings.

Leo Reise Jr., already showing the poise that later defined his career, offered reliability on the back end.

Those four players never became megastars, yet their movement changed how both clubs managed lineup balance during a turbulent postwar stretch.

Chicago leaned on Brown's pace to jump-start rush plays that had stalled early that year, while Detroit bet on Horeck's shot and Reise's defensive reads to tighten their structure.

Fans still look at this trade as a snapshot of how Original Six teams operated, and I always enjoy how these smaller moves show the league's deeper personality. You can sense the calculated risk on both sides, especially once the season's grind began to expose roster flaws.

Reise eventually earned All-Star honors with Detroit, confirming that the Red Wings correctly projected his growth curve. Brown's tenure in Chicago remained shorter but meaningful because he provided the burst that coaches wanted from their middle six.

The trade aged quietly, yet it remains a reminder that even modest moves can ripple across seasons and memories, which is part of why revisiting them still feels worthwhile.