Chicago Blackhawks: 2020 Free Agents To Re-Sign

2. Dominik Kubalik (RFA)

Dominik Kubalik has played in 57 games this season for the Blackhawks. He made his NHL debut in his home country, Czech Republic. Kubalik has played great so far this year.

Kubalik leads all rookies in goals this season with 23. He’s also top five in points. During the beginning of the year (2020), Kubalik went on multiple games scoring a goal. He’s had multiple games where he was very close to getting his first career hat trick.

My only concern with him is consistency. He scores a lot of goals but he hasn’t followed that up with a lot of assists. A player that can bring 20-plus goals to a team will have a job for a long time. If he can’t bring the assists total up, I am worried.

There is no promise that you’ll score a goal each night. Even Kane doesn’t score a goal each night. The benefit of players like Kane is their ability to create plays. If Kubalik can get there, he’ll be a huge factor in the future success of this team.

With Kubalik still being in the running for Rookie of the Year, the Blackhawks need to re-sign him. I don’t think he’ll ever get too expensive for the team. I am against longer contracts for less proven players, but I would offer Kubalik four years, $3,000,000 AAV.

The Blackhawks will have the money to pay him $3,000,000 AAV and it’ll keep him on the team for the near future. As he improves as a player, it’ll look like a steal deal. If he doesn’t end up being all the Blackhawks want him to be, they could trade him.

They traded a fifth-round draft pick for Kubalik, to begin with. If they got anything higher, they would have improved on their investment. Still, he is worth a lot more than a fifth-round pick. This is a steal for the Blackhawks, they need to lock him up this summer.

3. Dylan Strome (RFA)

It worries me that Dylan Strome still hasn’t signed a contract with the Blackhawks. As an RFA, they will have the ‘rights’ for him this summer. That gives them a leg up on any signing. If Strome doesn’t want to stay in Chicago, which he does, the Blackhawks would be receiving draft picks in return.

When Alex DeBrincat was re-signed three-years for $6,400,000 AAV, I was expecting a contract extension for Strome to come right after. The DeBrincat-Strome connection is going to be the future in Chicago, as long as they keep them together.

Since being traded to Chicago, Strome has 82 points in 105 games. Before that, in Arizona he played in 48 games, he only had 16 points there.

He has turned his career around, to say the least. Strome is worth a big contract in the summer. I believe the DeBrincat deal was too short. Both Strome and DeBrincat need to be locked up for a long time.

Strome is worth around $4,500,000 AAV. I could see him signing a four-year deal for $4,500,000 AAV. My worry comes when both Strome and DeBrincat’s contract expires. Who knows how good they’ll be by then.

Of course, Kane and Toews’ contracts will have expired. They’ll be getting less money, so it’ll open up money for DeBrincat and Strome. Adding to them though, there will be Kirby Dach and Adam Boqvist to re-sign a few years down the line.

There will be a huge salary crunch in a few years. That is why the Blackhawks have to be smart now and re-sign their stars for a long time, while they’re young and worth-less money.

4. Robin Lehner (UFA)

Besides being poor in the shootout, Robin Lehner has been stellar this season. In his 30 starts, Lehner is 16-9-5. After winning both the Jennings and Masterton trophy last season, I was shocked the Blackhawks went after him.

I was certain Lehner was going to be an Islander for the rest of his career. If you look back at his time in both Buffalo and Ottawa, he played really well. Both of those teams didn’t help him out much.

Both the Sabres and the Senators have been awful during the last few seasons. Players like Lehner had the unfortunate duty of playing there. Despite that, he still played really well.

Lehner is currently on a one-year deal worth $5,000,000 AAV. As a goalie with a career record of 113-119-45, should he really be paid more than that?

I look at it in two ways. Lehner finally had his chance on a good team and won both the Jennings and Masterton trophy. If the Blackhawks can tighten up and fix their problems, how well would Lehner do here?

If we’re choosing between Corey Crawford and Lehner, I have to go with Lehner. The Blackhawks can afford to pay him this summer. With both goalies’ contracts expiring, they’ll have $11,000,000 AAV to spend.

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If they want to give $8,000,000 AAV to Lehner, go for it. That’s when you have to believe in either Collin Delia or hope Crawford will re-sign for $3,000,000 AAV or less. I think that’s a slap in the face to Crawford though. If he tests the free-agent market, there will be a team that’ll pay him more money.

If the Blackhawks are smart about this, they could get both guys back next season. If Lehner will sign $7,500,000 AAV for multiple seasons, they could get Crawford back for $3,500,000 AAV on a one year deal. It’ll keep Crawford around and maybe give him a shot somewhere else.

Of course, if Lehner wants to be paid in the $9,000,000 – $10,000,000 AAV range, he’s not worth it. The Blackhawks would have to keep Crawford and spend their money on a more proven goalie.

Lehner is valuable to the Blackhawks. If they can sign him for five years, $7,500,000 AAV, they might get a Stanley Cup or two out of him. With the bright future of players they have, a goalie with the skill set of Lehner can be the difference.