3 Worst Contracts For The Blackhawks Since 2000

The Blackhawks have made some rough decisions in the past, and a few of those decisions have come more recently within the organization, when management decided to overpay a player based on one good season, or because there was some interest in the player and they were worried about losing him...or whatever the case may be. This article will cover the three worst contracts the Blackhawks have signed since 2000.

Seth Jones

The Contract: 8 years - $9.5M AAV

Let me start by saying, I am a huge fan of Seth Jones. I think he still has plenty left in the tank and still has tons to show based on fans current opinion on him. The Blackhawks gave up a good amount of draft capital, as well as Adam Boqvist in exchange for Jones, and then locked him up for 8 years. His contract takes up 11.5% of the teams cap space.

Jones was coming off of a 5 goal, 23 assist season with the Jackets before the Hawks went all in for him. At the time, the Blackhawks felt like contenders. By the time the deadline had come around, it was clear they had made a slight mistake, and they began to sell players. The problem is, for the next 7 seasons, Jones will be making $9.5M AAV, which still looks like an incredible overpay. His first season with the Blackhawks was a 5 goal, 46 assist outing.

Jones has been praised for being an offensive defenseman, and it showed through last season that he still holds the strength to be a solid one. He was the power play quarterback all season and on a team that wasn't fantastic offensively, Jones still managed to put up over 50 points. That being said, he is no where near a $9.5M player, or at least he hasn't proven it just yet.

Brent Seabrook

The Contract: 8 years - $6.875M AAV ( 2015)

Brent Seabrook is a Blackhawks legend, playing a total of 1114 games with the franchise, while adding 103 goals, 361 assists and 464 points. Seabrook was a really solid player, and will likely go down as one of the best Hawks defensemen in franchise history. He was apart of the teams Stanley Cup runs, and is a three time champion, winning all three with the Hawks.

Unfortunately, near the end of his career that was stopped early due to injury, Seabrook wasn't playing all that great. In the 2017-18 season, he played 81 games, had 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points, which isn't terrible, but his play was very clearly declining. The 2018-19 season was more of the same. In 78 games played, Seabrook had 5 goals and 23 assists for 28 points, but his plus minus fell to a -6. The 2019-20 season was a huge decline, as he only appeared in 32 games, with a 4 point performance to show for it.

Injuries ended Seabrook's career early, and if he had stayed fully healthy I don't think this contract would've looked as bad as it did. But, during the 2020-21 season, the Hawks took on the full $6.875M cap hit and he didn't appear in a single game. The Hawks eventually traded Seabrook's rights to the Lightning for Tyler Johnson, who has battled injuries for a while, but will likely be a huge member of the top 6 forward core for this upcoming season.