Blackhawks: All the players playing for a contract this season

Adam Gaudette ($997,500)

This will be a trying year for Adam Gaudette. He signed a one-year contract betting on himself, and hopefully when it is up the team will have to give him a two or three-year deal worth 2 million. Gaudette is a great addition to the bottom six if he can stay healthy and reach a new level with the team. He definitely will get the opportunity this season.

Kirby Dach ($925,000)

The Blackhawks do not want to give Kirby Dach his long big contract this coming summer. Players like Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid signed their 9 million-dollar-plus contracts right off their rookie ones, and that is costing the teams now as they try to find pieces to fit with their young star players.

Chicago is going to want to take a similar route that they did with Kane and Toews. Give Dach a bridge contract for three or fours years to see where his game will be at when he is 25. The actual dollar amount of this contract is going to be based on how he plays this season as honestly right now the team doesn’t owe him more than Strome at three million as Dach missed most of last season.

Philipp Kurashev ($842,500)

Kurashev has a lot to prove this season. After a great rookie campaign now is the opportunity to show where he belongs in the organization. He proved that he could be an NHL player last season, now it is time to prove where you belong in the lineup. Is he a top-six forward or a bottom-six option? I am excited to see how he plays in 2021 and what kind of contract he will sign.