Could spending big this offseason hurt the Blackhawks in the long run?

The Chicago Blackhawks have a number of free agents they could be interested in this summer, additionally there are a handful of players within their own organization currently without a contract.

The Blackhawks definitely have the money to field a more competitive roster in 2025-26. Puck Pedia has the Blackhawks with over $29 million in cap space to work with. While that definitely is plenty of money for this season, there is one pending avalanche Blackhawks general Kyle Davidson has to brace for.

The Blackhawks have a number of key players looking for long term contract extensions in the near future.

Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard, and Kevin Korchinski are both entering the final year of their entry level contracts. Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore are two years away from looking for long term deals as well.

Adding to the Blackhawks future cap uncertainty, Spencer Knight, Connor Murphy, Lukas Reichel, Ilya Mikheyev, Jason Dickinson, Joe Veleno Coltdon Dach and captain Nick Foligno are also entering the final year of their current contracts.

The Blackhawks might have a ton of cap space, but that also is because so many of those key players mentioned are making less than a million a year on rookie deals.

Chicago should go out and add in free agency this summer, but Davidson cannot afford to hinder his future ability to retain his stars by giving out too much money buying in free agency.

Look at the Minnesota Wild. Marco Rossi and Minnesota have been in the news a lot the past few days as Rossi, 23, is reportedly demanding a hefty new contract. It is reported that the Rossi is asking for a deal in the seven-year $49 million range.

Chicago could see guys like Nazar, Levshunov, Rinzel and Moore demand similar deals, especially if they continue to pan out well as the team hopes. Bedard definitely is in for a pay day as well, and he could very well be signed to an extension before the summer is over. Chicago might have money to spend, but Davidson and the Hawks need to be responsible with the long term goals of the organization in mind.