 The team traded Tuomo Ruutu, their longest tenured player, to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Andrew Ladd on February 26, 2008.Later that day, the Blackhawks traded captain Martin Lapointe to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.On the first day of free agency, July 1, the team signed goaltender Cristobal Huet to a four-year, US$22.5 million contract, and later signed defenseman Brian Campbell to an eight-year, $56.8 million contract.