The Chicago Blackhawks have signed Mackenzie Entwistle to a two-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season. The young forward still has one year left on his entry-level deal, but will earn $800K in each of the following seasons.
Entwistle, 22, made his NHL debut this season, playing in five games for the Blackhawks and recording two points. Acquired in the Marian Hossa deal with the Arizona Coyotes three years ago, he was originally selected 69th overall in 2017. After showing he could be a solid contributor in the minor leagues, the 6’3″ forward was given a chance with the big club and obviously impressed.
The two-year extension is a one-way deal, suggesting that Entwistle’s role with the Blackhawks is likely going to increase in the coming seasons. While it’s a very crowded forward group in Chicago this year, big change could be right around the corner. Remember that both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will see their matching eight-year, $84MM contracts expire after the 2022-23 season, and though the Blackhawks will obviously want to keep them around, they’re getting closer to a seismic shift in the core of the team.
The next core, which will likely be anchored by Seth Jones, Alex DeBrincat, and Kirby Dach, still needs some help if it’s to get to a level of real Stanley Cup contention. Depth players like Entwistle can certainly help, especially if he can bring a level of consistent play to the bottom-six on an $800K cap hit.
Excellent, I liked what I saw from his game in the AHL and, even though he’s only been in 5 NHL games, he’s shown similar poise. The forward group is going to be highly contested when camp starts.
Please let his nickname be The Ox!
The who?
What the actual hell are the Hawks doing? One way deal means he’s gonna be on the NHL club. They have 17 forwards currently competing for 12 spots
Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Tyler Johnson, Dominik Kubalik, Brett Connolly, Dylan Strome, Brandon Hagel, Ryan Carpenter, Henrik Borgstrom, Adam Gaudette, Jujhar Khaira, Kirby Dach, and Philipp Kurashev, Mike Hardman, MacKenzie Entwistle, and Alex Nylander. Kurashev and Nylander and basically the only two without either new contracts, a starting player, or were traded for in the offseason.