The Blackhawks 3 most expensive contracts entering free agency

Each summer, it's always fun to take a look at what the Chicago Blackhawks' salary cap situation looks like. Who makes the most? Which players are on the best contracts? And who is next up to get paid is always a big component of the season—and this summer is no different.

The Blackhawks have over $22 million in cap space to work with this summer, per PuckPedia. Now, the Blackhawks are not projected to actually reach the cap ceiling this summer, but there is a good chance they could add some contracts when free agency begins on Tuesday.

Looking at the Blackhawks' most expensive contracts at the end of the Hawks' season in April would have yielded a different result from today's three most expensive contracts; things change fast. So let's dive in with the Blackhawks' three most expensive contracts.

The 3 players on the most expensive contracts with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Shea Weber is a lot of things. He is a member of the Hall of Fame; one of the best defensemen ever to play against the Toews and Kane era Blackhawks; and he will be the highest-paid Blackhawk when the regular season begins in 2025-26.

The Blackhawks traded for Shea Weber's contract this past March when they also acquired Aku Raty and Victor Soderstrom from the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for a 2026 5th-round pick. The 39-year-old defenseman has not played in the NHL since the 2020-21 season, when he played in 48 games with the Montreal Canadiens.

Weber will spend the season on injured reserve with a cap hit of $7.86 million.

The next highest paid player in Chicago is actually a tie between one forward general manager Kyle Davidson signed last summer and one he traded for just this month. Blackhawks forwards Andre Burakovsky and Tyler Bertuzzi both carry contracts with a $5.5 million AAV.

Bertuzzi registered 46 points last season, including 23 goals in 82 games with the Blackhawks. He is signed through the 2028-29 NHL Season. Burakovsky joined the Blackhawks in a gamble with the Seattle Kraken. Last season, he registered 10 goals and 37 points in 79 games.

Burakovsky is signed through the 2026-27 NHL Season. In theory, both Bertuzzi and Burakovsky could be featured on this list next summer, but with extensions in the works for guys like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar and Spencer Knight, the Blackhawks are likely to have passed out even more lucrative deals.