7 Richest salary cap era contracts in Blackhawks History

After a few weeks of making the fanbase sweat out the announcement, the Chicago Blackhawks finally extended their star player, Connor Bedard, agreeing to a five-year extension valued at $75 million. Once the Anaheim Ducks matched the $92 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, they agreed to pay the second overall pick from the 2023 NHL Draft $18 million annually. Now that Bedard has a new deal, he’ll be the second-highest-paid player in the league with a $15 yearly salary.

Since the NHL instituted the salary cap ahead of the 2005-06 season, the Blackhawks have oddly not dished out extremely expensive deals, instead giving superstars modest annual salaries over longer contracts. Outside of the best players of their recent Stanley Cup years of the early 2010s, Bedard’s deal became only the team’s fourth-richest contract in the salary cap era. Today, we take a look back at which Blackhawks have made over $60 million with their signings.

7 Richest contracts in Blackhawks salary cap history

7. Marián Hossa - $63.3 million ($5.275 million AAV)

Marián Hossa came to the Blackhawks after losing in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, finding defeat in back-to-back meetings between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. As a free agent, Dale Tallon signed him to a 12-year, $63.3 million contract, paying him $5.25 million annually. Months after the ink dried on this deal, Hossa hoisted the Stanley Cup in June 2010, doing it again in 2013 and 2015 en route to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020. In 2022, he saw his No. 81 raised to the rafters at the United Center.

6. Duncan Keith - $72 million ($5.538 million AAV)

When the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015, one of the pillars of the team’s core was two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith. He spent 17 seasons in Chicago, taking home the Conn Smythe in 2015, forever etching his name in team history as one of their great playoff performers. Right before the team’s championship successes, Keith signed a 13-year, $72 million extension in 2009 for a modest $5.5 million annually. At the time, he held the record for the Blackhawks’ longest and richest contract.

5. Bowen Byram - $75 million ($12.5 million AAV)

One year before he became a free agent, the Blackhawks traded for defenseman Bowen Byram and, for a month, made him the highest-paid player in the lineup. The one-time Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022 had a career high of 42 points while skating with the Buffalo Sabres last year. Now, at 25, Byram faces the pressure of being one of the highest-paid defenders in the NHL starting next year, that is, until his former Avalanche teammate Cale Makar inks a new deal.

4. Connor Bedard - $75 million ($15 million AAV)

On July 18, 2026, the Blackhawks locked up the first overall pick from the 2023 NHL Draft, making Bedard the second-highest-paid player in the NHL with a five-year deal worth $75 million, carrying a $15 million AAV. Despite being sidelined with a shoulder injury, Bedard is trending for a November return, when he could be named the team’s next captain. At just 21, Bedard is already producing at almost a point-per-game average on a rebuilding Blackhawks team that is only a few more pieces away from contending for a playoff spot and another championship.

3. Seth Jones - $76 million ($9.5 million AAV)

Three weeks into free agency in 2021, the Blackhawks swung a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets to acquire defenseman Seth Jones. Later that afternoon, the team announced they had signed him to a $76 million extension with an AAV of $9.5 million. Jones played only four years under that deal with the Blackhawks before moving to the Florida Panthers in March 2025 and winning the Stanley Cup in June. Currently, Chicago pays him $2.5 million annually as part of their dead cap space.

2. Patrick Kane - $84 million ($10.5 million AAV)

As the greatest American-born player in team history, it is no surprise to see Patrick Kane at the top of this list, sharing the honors with his long-time teammate Jonathan Toews. As one of only a few players to win three Stanley Cups with the organization, Kane came out of his entry-level deal, agreeing to a five-year extension worth $31.5 million in 2009. Then, when that agreement was up in 2015, and the Blackhawks won all those championships, the player and team agreed to an eight-year deal worth $84 million.

1. Jonathan Toews - $84 million ($10.5 million AAV)

Toews is without a doubt the greatest captain to ever wear a Blackhawks sweater. Not only is he statistically a top-10 player, but he's the only one to lead the franchise to three Stanley Cup victories. To keep the Blackhawks in contention, he agreed to a deal similar to Kane's, ensuring the core stayed together. Thanks to a resume loaded with international successes, Toews is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the richest players to ever play with Chicago.

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