Blackhawks: All the players playing for a contract this season

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Kevin Lankinen #32, Chicago Blackhawks, Dylan Strome #17 Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

The Chicago Blackhawks have a number of players on expiring deals this season, and the team will want to work fast to get some of them under contract.

Having players with some term on their deals allows for some stability on the roster. Thanks to the moves the Blackhawks have made this offseason, they now have five contracts that are for three years, the rest all expire this coming summer or next summer. Let’s go through the entire list of players that will be asking for some pay raises.

Keep in mind, according to CapFriendly, the Blackhawks have about 27 million in cap space to work with for next season.

Dominik Kubalik (3.7 million)

Kubalik is an interesting player on this list. He is someone that I do not think the team wants to pay five or six million, but raising him up to 4.5 for a season or two would be like a good move for the team. He is someone that probably will need another bridge deal to stay in Chicago. Unless he goes out this season and puts up 50 plus points I think his raise won’t be too dramatic, especially during a flat cap world.

Dylan Strome (3 million)

It seems like Dylan Strome is the odd one out right now. When Blackhawk Up contributor Justin Klawans put together what he thinks the forward group could look like in 2021-22, he did not include Strome as it would be best for the team to move him out for some other asset in return. Still, should Strome decide to re-sign with the Blackhawks I do not think it would be with a raise unless this year drastically alters his career with the team.

Ryan Carpenter (1 million)

Ryan Carpenter is a player that I think the Blackhawks let walk away after this contract. He has been a great fourth-line forward for this roster, but with the young talent that is looking for a chance in the league, Carpenter’s spot is up for grabs. Some team would be lucky to add him to their depth chart either in trade at the deadline or during free agency.

Kirby Dach, Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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.

Connor Murphy #5, Chicago Blackhawks Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

Calvin de Haan (4.55 million)

Calvin de Haan is another example of a player that I think the team should let walk away at the conclusion of this contract. If he is willing to sign for less money then maybe they should keep him around, but either way I think the team has the defenseman to make up for losing de Haan. By next season Mitchell and Beaudin will have another year of experience under their belts and will be ready to jump into the NHL. At that point, de Haan is taking up a spot for one of them.

Connor Murphy (3.85 million)

Murphy is the only player on this list that I want the Blackhawks to re-sign right now. This is going to be a fun year for Murphy as he will have some help on the blue line for the first time in his run in Chicago. The defensive core is looking improved and Murphy is the one with the most time in Chicago. Rightfully so, Murphy is going to be due a pay raise this offseason, but for how much is the question. Anywhere from 4 to 5.5 million seems to make sense for the defenseman who led the team the past few seasons. If Jake McCabe makes 4 million with the team, then Murphy probably will be making a million or so more than that.

Wyatt Kalynuk ($925,000)

Hopefully, Wyatt Kalynuk signs an extension similar to what Riley Stillman got. A little over a million for three or four seasons. That is the same for the next defenseman on this list Caleb Jones.

Caleb Jones ($850,000)

Like I just said the team should try and lock in Jones for a little over a million for the next three or four years. Contracts like that should be signed sooner rather than later as all this season is going to do is increase their value and asking price next season.

Kevin Lankinen #32, Chicago Blackhawks Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

Marc-Andre Fleury (7 million)

Who knows whether or not Marc-Andre Fleury will re-sign with Chicago at the end of the season. If he is still interested in playing then I could see a deal getting worked out. He is not going to want to move his family out here only to move them again at the end of the season. Hopefully, Fleury stays in Chicago for three or four years and wins a championship with Chicago to end his career.

Kevin Lankinen ($800,000)

Lankinen probably will be asking for two million when this contract is up. He deserves it too. The goalie served as the starter during last season, and depending on how many games he gets into next year he would be a good player for the roster to sign long-term to serve as the goalie of the future.

Players in the system looking for contracts after next season:

Cameron Morrison, Matej Chalupa, Mike Hardman, Reese Johnson, Andrei Altybarmakyan, Mackenzie Entwistle, Chad Krys, Collin Delia, Malcolm Subban

The Chicago Blackhawks need Jonathan Toews this season

I think most of the players in the system looking for contracts will get them except for maybe either Delia or Subban. If they do not work out in the NHL with Chicago then they probably will take their talents elsewhere to see if they can make someone else’s lineup. Arguably they should be able to be back up goalies in some organization.

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