An offseason checklist for the Chicago Blackhawks

The biggest decisions that will need to be made in the short term involve winger Patrick Kane and center Jonathan Toews. Both players have spent their entire careers (14 years for Toews, 15 for Kane) in Chicago and have been on identical contracts since 2010. They’re set to enter the final year of their deals that carry a $10.5M cap hit. Are they a part of the future plans?  

Davidson allowed for the possibility that they could stick around, but will the veterans be willing to go through several more years of losing? If not, then they will have to give serious consideration to trading their long-time pillars. Are those moves easier to make now when moving salary is a bit easier or closer to the trade deadline when most of the cap hit has been covered already? That, along with the possibility of extensions, will likely have to be jointly explored this summer.

Other veterans will likely be on the move as well to add future assets and try to free up some cap flexibility. Blueliner Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy along with center Tyler Johnson are all potential options to be moved either this summer or at some point during the season.

RFA decisions

Two younger veterans that could fit in the above category as well are Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Strome. Both are restricted free agents this summer with qualifying offers ($4M for Kubalik, $3.6M for Strome) that are a bit high relative to their performance in recent years. Kubalik had 30 goals in his rookie season but just 32 in the last two combined. Strome, meanwhile, has been hit or miss since joining Chicago in 2018, at times looking like a capable top-six player while struggling to the point of being a healthy scratch at others.

Not that long ago, both players were viewed as potential long-term fits for the Blackhawks, but that isn’t the case now due to their inconsistency. Kubalik was available at the trade deadline with minimal interest while Strome has been available off and on going back more than a year. His strong finish (36 points in his last 40 games) could help his chances of sticking around with a one-year, "prove it" type of contract.

Can the Blackhawks keep both? They can opt for club-elected arbitration which carries a minimum salary of 85% of the qualifying offer, but there’s no guarantee the arbitrator will agree with that valuation and there are no walkaway rights with club-elected arbitration. Chicago can try to negotiate a lower-priced deal but there’s no requirement for Kubalik and Strome to agree to something like that. Accordingly, don’t be surprised if both players are in the rumor mill in the coming weeks to see if there’s a trade return that could be palatable if Davidson doesn’t want to pay the cost to keep them.

DeBrincat extension talks

One player that Davidson will undoubtedly be willing to pay the cost to keep is winger Alex DeBrincat. He signed a three-year bridge deal back in 2019 and has outperformed it, scoring 73 goals in just 134 games since then, including 41 this season. With his contract coming before the CBA extension, he’s subject to the old qualifying offer rules which means his 2022-23 salary of $9M represents his qualifying offer next summer.

The 24-year-old will be eligible for an extension once the new league year starts in mid-July. DeBrincat looks like a centerpiece of Chicago’s rebuilding process so locking him up as soon as possible is something that needs to be explored. It wouldn’t be surprising to see discussions on a new agreement begin sooner than later as a result. A deal doesn’t have to be done now but if something isn’t agreed on, he’ll enter next summer a year away from UFA eligibility which always carries some risk. Expect Davidson to try to avoid that if he can.