Ways the Chicago Blackhawks can fix their salary cap burden

The Chicago Blackhawks are up against the salary cap for next season. It is going to take a little bit of swindling but I believe the Blackhawks might find a way under the cap with their stars.

It really does not make sense what Stan Bowman did during last seasons offseason. He brought in so many players on big contracts like Calvin de Haan Olli Maatta and Andrew Shaw to name a few. Those three deals cost the Blackhawks almost 12 million in cap space.

While we might not have made the playoffs if it was not for those two defensemen throughout the regular season, it comes with a cost as we try to sign our new free agents. Chicago has some big-name players trying to stay with the team, and things are not going to be easy.

The Blackhawks are paying the price for having stars like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Those two players earned their contracts when they signed for 10 million, and I will never say that those contracts were mistakes.

Now Brent Seabrook also earned his contract. I know we all might not like it, but he earned it the years prior when he helped get the Blackhawks their championships. All of these cap issues now might be a burden, but I would take it any day if it meant we got to watch the Blackhawks win their three championships in six seasons.

With that in mind, let’s look at the free agents the Blackhawks are going to need to get under contract this offseason.

Potential Ways to Clear Things Up

Zack Smith – 3.25 million

Olli Maatta – 4 million

Andrew Shaw – 3.9 million

In total, trading away these three players would clear up a little over 11 million in cap space for the Blackhawks. That is exactly what the team needs to move forward, and it allows them to keep great players like Brandon Saad and Calvin de Haan.

I disagree with a lot of people when it comes to Brandon Saad. So many people are talking about the Blackhawks trading him away, but he was one of our most reliable forwards this year in both ends of the ice.

I do not think trading away Saad is going to help the Blackhawks, so I hope they look to these three players as trade bait this summer. I know finding partners for Zack Smith or Andrew Shaw might not be the easiest thing right now considering Shaw has had health issues and Smith is getting older, but I am sure we can find a way to get something done.

It might not be the easiest thing in the world getting rid of these three guys. Even if we just get rid of Olli Maatta and Zack Smith we might be able to capitalize on a lot of cap space. I think Olli Maatta should be good trade bate especially after the great postseason he had with the Blackhawks where he scored three goals and registered si points for fourth-best on the team.

The Blackhawks can definitely bring in a nice young prospect or draft pick for Maatta, and it would also allow the team to clear up some cap space. Maybe if we shift out both Matta and Smith in one trade it would allow the team to dump Smith’s contract without needing to give up any prospects.

Another potential option would be Connor Murphy just because his position has so many young players wanting to make the jump to the NHL. However, I believe trading Murphy would be a mistake for this team’s blue line as he has been great so far with the Blackhawks.

If the ‘Hawks can not find any trade partner as every other team is up against the salary cap then I guess buying out Maatta will work. So with these players in mind let’s take a look at the potential roster for next season!

Prediction of the roster for next season

I know it might seem like the Blackhawks would be bringing back a pretty similar roster if this is what we look like on opening night, but I could see them doing some trades during the season as well.

I liked what our group brought to the table last season, and I think we are really close to reaching the playoffs with this group. We just need to continue to improve our defense and work on bringing in more depth.

The idea of having good depth is why I believe Brandon Saad stays with the Blackhawks. He was dominating this season when he played in the bottom six, and only got better when they moved hi to the top line with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik. I would love to see Dach and Saad play with Pius Suter.

Forwards

Dominik Kubalik – Jonathan Toews – Drake Caggiula

Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Strome – Patrick Kane

Pius Suter – Kirby Dach – Brandon Saad

Ryan Carpenter – David Kampf – Matthew Highmore

Defense

Duncan Keith – Adam Boqvist

Calvin de Haan – Connor Murphy

Ian Mitchell – Brent Seabrook

Goalies

Corey Crawford 

Collin Delia 

Who else do you think the Blackhawks are going to have to trade to get ready for next season? I am sure that there are other ways the team could get under the salary cap and keep the players they need around, this is just what made the most sense to me.