Seth Jones' Dead Cap won't stop the Blackhawks from paying Bedard and Byram

The Chicago Blackhawks have taken a patient approach to building their current roster over the past few seasons, avoiding the massive free-agent contracts that have limited other contenders.

Thankfully, that strategy has left them with one of the NHL's healthiest salary-cap situations just as Connor Bedard becomes eligible for a long-term extension.

Heading into the 2026-27 season, Chicago has $31,150,009 in cap space, the second-most in the league, trailing only the Philadelphia Flyers, who are at $31,499,999 and just sent an offer sheet to Leo Carlsson for $90 million that the Anaheim Ducks decided to match.

Moreover, the Blackhawks are just one of 10 teams with a dead contract on the books, with former defensemen Seth Jones and T.J. Brodie still counting against the cap.

At $72,849,991 in salaries already, Chicago is still not up to the cap floor yet, which will be $76.9 million for the season.

However, Bedard needs a new deal now that his entry-level contract is up, and given how important he is to the organization's future, the Blackhawks won't have any trouble getting over the cap floor, with the starting salary for the future captain at least $10 million.

Seth Jones leads Blackhawks’ Dead Cap totals

On July 23, 2021, Chicago pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets to acquire Jones. The deal included a first-round pick going to the Blackhawks, who turned it into Nolan Allan, and a sixth-round pick (Dominic Jones).

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets acquired Adam Boqvist, a second-round pick (Aleksi Heimosalmi), two first-round picks (David Jiricek) and (Cole Sillinger).

Stan Bowman, who was Chicago’s general manager at the time, inked Jones to an eight-year pact worth $76 million, with a $9.5 million annual salary for two years, then $7 million for the final six years.

Within four years, the Blackhawks dealt Jones to the Florida Panthers, agreeing to retain $2.5 million of his annual salary until the end of the 2029-30 season.

As of right now, Jones remains the fifth-highest-paid defender on Chicago’s books, even though he hasn’t played a game for the franchise since Feb. 27, 2025.

T.J. Brodie bought out a year ago, still on the books in 2026-27

It’s been more than a calendar year since Brodie skated in the NHL, playing his last game on Mar. 1, 2025. When he came to Chicago on July 1, 2024, Kyle Davidson signed him to a two-year, $7.5 million contract.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out: Brodie scored only 10 points in 54 games, with the team’s fifth-worst plus/minus total at minus-18. At the conclusion of the season, the Blackhawks placed him on unconditional waivers, but he cleared and became a free agent when the club bought out the final year of his contract.

According to CapWages.com, Brodie is still making $258,333 this season, despite being retired in Ontario and playing beer hockey these days.

Blackhawks not overspending in 2026 leaves plenty of cap space for the future

Even though Chicago made a splashy trade to acquire Bowen Byram at the start of free agency, he only has the second-highest salary in the lineup at $6.25 million, tied with Ryan Ellis and behind Frank Nazar’s $6.5 million.

However, Byram's extension kicks in next summer, when he'll earn $12 million annually, making him the first Blackhawks player to make eight figures. Meanwhile, Bedard will join him once he signs his next contract, which will likely exceed $10 million per season.

Despite having two players set to make at least $12 million per season, the Blackhawks are still in a great salary-cap position. They haven't handed out many expensive long-term contracts in recent years, giving them plenty of flexibility to lock up their young core while still adding pieces around them.

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