THE SIDELINES : Blackhawks Acquire Cloutier, Coxe

The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired goalie Jacques Cloutier from Buffalo and have purchased the rights to left wing Craig Coxe from the St. Louis Blues.

Cloutier, 29, “will compete for the goal-tending position” with Alain Chevrier, said Coach Mike Keenan. “But if ‘Chevy’ continues to play as well as he did in the playoffs, it’ll be tough to knock him out of the position.”

Cloutier has seen sporadic play in Buffalo since 1981. He had a 3.63 goals-against average in 36 games.

Coxe, 25, played in 41 games for the Blues last season, recording seven assists and 127 penalty minutes.