NHL
With Stan Bowman at the Helm, Bad Contracts Have Been Handed Out in Hopes of Winning Another Cup. But Do the Blackhawks Need a Rebuild?
The List of bad contracts goes on and on for the Chicago Blackhawks and Stan Bowman. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are past their prime and played some bad hockey last year. Combined, the two will make $12,413,462 for the next five seasons plus Seabrook’s extra year of his contract at $6.875 million.
According to CapFriendly, the four forwards of Patrick Kane, Jonathon Toews, Artem Anisimov and Brandon Saad make a combined $31.55 million for the next three seasons. With these bad contracts, how are the Blackhawks going to be able to sign their young stars who deserve contracts in the future?
Sometimes it may take some trades to rid your self of these nasty contracts and that is what has happened this offseason. By moving Marian Hossa’s the Hawks gained valuable Cap Space but used it on some questionable signings.
Have the Blackhawks Gotten Better?
I actually do not think the Blackhawks have gotten better. Chicago signed Cam Ward to back up Corey Crawford. Ward has been past his prime for two to three seasons and has been struggling as of late. Is he the right guy to fill in if Crawford is still suffering from a head injury that occurred in December of last year? In this article by the Chicago Sun Times, Crawford states that he is still not 100 percent. This season could be one for the trash can if Crawford is still not 100 percent by season’s start.
Additions
The biggest addition may have been Chris Kunitz. Last season with Tampa Bay, Kunitz put up 29 points and 13 goals. However, Kunitz is also not in his prime and may be heading towards the exit of his NHL Career. Marcus Kruger was re-added this offseason in a trade with Arizona. Last year, Kruger scored one goal and added five assists in 48 games.
Brandon Manning was added on defense. Manning scored seven goals and totaled 19 points last year with Philadelphia. Jordan Schroeder is the Wild Card for the additions list. If he comes into the NHL and can score like he could in the AHL last season the Hawks could have some scoring help in the depths of their line up. Schroeder netted the puck 14 times and added 22 assists in 48 AHL games last year.
Between the pipes, the Chicago Blackhawks added Stanley Cup winner Cam Ward to back up Corey Crawford. In 43 games last year with Carolina. Ward had a record of 23-14-4 with a 2.73 GAA and a .906 SV%.
Subtractions
The players subtracted that played more than 41 games include Patrick Sharp (70 GP), Jordan Oesterle (55 GP), Lance Bouma (53 GP), and Vinnie Hinostroza (50 GP). Of the four, Hinostroza lead the group in points with 25 (7 G, 18 A), followed by Patrick Sharp with 2 points (10 G, 11 A). Next was Jordan Oesterle tallying 15 points (5 G, 10 A) and Lance Bouma who scored 3 goals and had 6 assists.
The final three subtractions are Tomas Jurco, Anthony Duclair, and Cody Franson. Combined these three had 25 points in 75 games.
Where the Chicago Blackhawks Stand
The Chicago Blackhawks do not stand with the Elites of the NHL like they had four seasons ago. After their first-round loss to Nashville in 2017 Stan Bowman thought that blowing the team up and trading Artemi Panarin would spark something big. It did, however, spark the end of the beginning. Since then the team has failed to make the playoffs and seem to have no direction. This past season I was surprised by the Blackhawks being this bad, but I am not sure it is going to get better. I see the Hawks finishing dead last in the Central Division this year and may be of the bottom 10 teams of the NHL.
Follow Jared on Twitter: @jared_pettus_00
