Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We begin with a look at the Central Division, starting with Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks
Current Cap Hit: $81,322,500 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Connor Bedard (two years, $950K)
D Kevin Korchinski (two years, $918.3K)
F Frank Nazar (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Bedard: $3.5MM
Korchinski: $1MM
Nazar: $900K
Total: $5.4MM
Expectations were quite high for Bedard, the 2023 top pick, heading into his rookie year. He was given every opportunity to play a prominent role and be the go-to threat on the power play. He was a bit overmatched at times defensively but acquitted himself quite well, showing that he could be the next generational talent as he has been hyped up to be. At a minimum, he should be able to hit the $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses but he’d need to be among the league’s top scorers to have a shot at the rest of them. When it comes to his next contract, if he lives up to expectations, Connor McDavid’s eight-year, $100MM agreement could very well be the comparable.
Korchinski also had some defensive struggles but logged consistent top-four minutes as a junior-aged blueliner which is something that doesn’t occur very often. On a team that should be at least a bit more competitive this coming season, he should be able to put up some improved offensive numbers, giving him a chance at pushing for his four ‘A’ bonuses as well. If that part of his game comes around, he could be in line for a significant second contract of his own, one that could push past the $6MM mark (potentially more depending on the numbers). Nazar is somewhat of a wild card as he could be deployed in Chicago’s top six or they could opt to start him in the minors and bring him up midseason. If it’s the latter, it’d be unlikely that he’d land a long-term second contract since he already burned the first year of his deal last season.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Andreas Athanasiou ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Ryan Donato ($2MM, UFA)
F Taylor Hall ($6MM, UFA)
F Philipp Kurashev ($2.25MM, RFA)
F Pat Maroon ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Alec Martinez ($4MM, UFA)
D Isaak Phillips ($775K, RFA)
F Craig Smith ($1MM, UFA)
Chicago’s big acquisition last summer on the trade front was Hall, a capable top-six forward, to help give Bedard some support. He only played in ten games before undergoing season-ending knee surgery. He’ll need a big bounce-back year if he wants a chance at a contract that’s close to this price point. Athanasiou’s contract seemed pricey at the time he was signed but Chicago was paying an above-market rate to keep a veteran they liked. With several youngsters getting development time in Rockford, Athanasiou may not get another one of those deals and if that winds up being the case, he hasn’t had great success on the open market before so he could be in for a pay cut as well.
Kurashev had a breakout performance last season, more than doubling his previous career high in points, picking up 54 while spending a lot of time on the top line. While that might not be the permanent landing spot for him based on how their prospects develop, he has positioned himself for a sizable raise on his $2.25MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights. Another 50-point performance could push him into $5MM territory. Donato put up similar numbers to his two seasons in Seattle but is another player who hasn’t had great success in free agency before. A similar showing in 2024-25 might not be enough to land a raise with teams trying to spend a bit less in their top six. Maroon and Smith came in this summer to shore up Chicago’s depth; both players will be going year-to-year in all likelihood from here on out on contracts that are likely to stay around their current respective price points.
Martinez was another veteran signing designed to make the team more competitive now and keep some prospects with the IceHogs to help their development. He’s not the core player he was a few years ago and this felt like another short-term overpayment. If he plays in a fourth or fifth role this season, he’ll be hard-pressed to get this much next summer. Phillips is on a two-way deal but is now waiver-eligible. That might be enough to keep him on the roster in a seventh role as there’s no guarantee he’d pass through unclaimed. He’ll need to carve out some regular playing time if he wants to get to a seven-figure one-way salary.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Joey Anderson ($800K, UFA)
D T.J. Brodie ($3.75MM, UFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($3.3MM, UFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Nick Foligno ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.0375MM, UFA)*
G Petr Mrazek ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Connor Murphy ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Lukas Reichel ($1.2MM, RFA)
*-Vancouver is retaining an additional $712.5K on Mikheyev’s deal.
Foligno was also acquired from Boston last summer and quickly signed an above-market one-year deal. Things went well enough that he received an above-market two-year extension which starts in 2024-25. Foligno is miscast as a full-time top-six player but remains an effective veteran. That said, it’s hard to picture recent history repeating itself on his next deal. Dickinson’s contract also feels like an overpayment but he is coming off a 22-goal campaign; if he can stay in that range, they’ll at least get a decent return out of it while the 29-year-old could have a shot at a similar price tag for more term on his next deal.
Mikheyev was acquired as a cap dump from Vancouver after a particularly rough season in 2023-24. When he’s on, he’s an effective second-line winger but if his offensive struggles continue in 2024-25, he becomes a buyout candidate next summer. Reichel quickly opted for a bridge contract back in May. He’ll be owed a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2026 and if he’s able to secure even a full-time middle-six spot, he could have a shot at doubling that or more. Anderson was non-tendered in June to avoid giving him arbitration rights but quickly re-signed this contract, one which gives him a one-way salary for only the second (and third) time of his career. He’s a low-cost depth piece and with Chicago’s youngsters eventually getting more expensive, the Blackhawks will need to keep this roster spot around that price tag whether it’s with Anderson or someone else down the road.
Murphy, when healthy, remains a solid stay-at-home second-pairing blueliner. However, he has missed significant time with injuries in two of the last three seasons. Still, if he can stay healthy and in the same role for two more years, he could land a multi-year deal around this price tag two years from now. Brodie came over as another free agent pickup after a year in Toronto that started off okay but saw him struggle to finish. He won’t be tasked with as much ice time in Chicago which should help but when this contract is up, he’s probably going to have to go year-to-year moving forward.
Mrazek put up a respectable .907 SV% last season on a team that struggled considerably which helped earn him this two-year extension, one that is also above-market. He’ll need to put up better numbers over the next two seasons to have a shot at bettering his price tag two years from now. Brossoit’s decision to return to Winnipeg proved to be wise as he thrived in limited duty, making him one of the better options in free agency this summer. That said, with a still-limited track record, he couldn’t command top dollar. He’ll have a chance over the next two years to show that he can carry a bigger workload which could put him in line for another raise if things go well in Chicago.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
Teravainen had a bounce-back year with Carolina, potting a career-best 25 goals which made him one of the more prominent wingers in free agency. It was a bit surprising to see him land just a three-year agreement but he’ll have a chance to play a prominent role which, if all goes well, could allow him to put up some good numbers, giving him a chance to beat this price three years from now.
Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer
F Tyler Bertuzzi ($5.5MM through 2027-28)
D Seth Jones ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
D Alex Vlasic ($4.6MM through 2029-30)
Bertuzzi didn’t have much success in free agency a year ago, eventually settling for a one-year deal with the hopes of boosting his value for 2024. That didn’t exactly happen although his value didn’t drop either; he received the same AAV he had with the Maple Leafs where he’ll be counted on to help establish a second scoring line. He’ll be 33 when this deal is up so unless he finds another scoring level with Chicago, he might be in tough to beat this deal in 2028.
A lot has changed for Jones in his three years with Chicago. Acquired and signed to be the top piece of the back end for what was intended to be a playoff-bound team, he now finds himself anchoring the back end for a team with no playoff plans for probably a couple more years at least. He’s a player that the Blackhawks would be hard-pressed to move because of the contract as while he’s a legitimate top-pairing blueliner, he’s not necessarily a true number one option on a top team despite being tied for the fifth-highest AAV among all NHL defenders. Jones can still log heavy minutes for years to come but as Korchinski gets more comfortable offensively, he could start cutting into Jones’ offensive numbers which have already dipped over the last two years.
Vlasic’s contract was an interesting one. He went into last season with only 21 career NHL appearances over his first two years but then became a core shutdown defender. Chicago is clearly banking on Vlasic continuing to improve and if that happens, this contract will hold up well while positioning him to have a shot at one more long-term deal as he’ll be 29 when he becomes UFA-eligible.
Buyouts
F Josh Bailey ($1.167MM in 2024-25)
Retained Salary Transactions
D Jake McCabe ($2MM in 2024-25)
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: (non-entry-level): Reichel
Worst Value: Jones
Looking Ahead
With more than $6MM in projected cap space, Chicago is well-covered on that front heading into the season. That said, there’s a good chance that bonuses will cut a couple million or more off that number when the campaign comes to an end. But still, there’s enough wiggle room for GM Kyle Davidson to get creative to further utilize some of their remaining space.
Long term, the books are currently about as clean as anyone’s around the league. With just four NHL players signed for more than two years, they will have the financial flexibility to start to add more impactful pieces while still having ample space to afford what will be lofty second contracts for Bedard and Korchinski. They’re not getting great value on their spending now but that should soon change once some of these veteran placeholder contracts come to an end.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.