Blackhawks controversy evaporates as RFAs all sign contracts

by James Mirtle on Jul 8, 2009 11:58 AM CDT Comment 9 comments

Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews, right, celebrates his goal with Cameron Barker (25) and Kris Versteeg, center, against the Detroit Red Wings.

Browse more photos »

A source confirmed the Hawks and restricted free agent winger Kris Versteeg have finalized a three-year deal worth more than $9 million. The contract could be announced officially by the team on Wednesday.

Signing Versteeg for roughly $3 million puts the Hawks just about at the $56.8 million salary cap. A $3 million cap hit for Versteeg would put the Hawks' payroll at approximately $55.578 million, not counting the salary for the backup goalie.

— Tim Sassone, Between The Circles

Versteeg's the last of six restricted free agents involved in the qualifying offer "debacle" of last week to sign on the dotted line, thereby making the NHLPA grieving the situation a relative non-issue. Here's a look at the contracts they signed:

Players	2008-09	New contract	Cap hit
Cam Barker	0.984	Three years	3.083
Kris Versteeg	0.490	Three years	3.083
Troy Brouwer	0.700	Two years	1.025
Ben Eager	0.650	One year	0.965
Colin Fraser	0.500	One year	0.700
Aaron Johnson	0.525	One year	0.540

Make no mistake, Chicago could have had a real problem on its hands after bungling the qualifying offers, but it was clear from the start all six players were more interested in playing as Blackhawks this coming season rather than fighting through a grievance to become UFAs. The four lower-end guys here either accepted small raises or just took their qualifying offers (Johnson, for instance, could have received much more had he fought for it), while Barker and Versteeg likely received a little more than they would have as RFAs but less than on the open market.

Had this issue occurred involving a team or market where players wanted out of, I imagine the results would be quite different. As of now, 'Hawks fans and front office brass are breathing a sigh of relief.

Click here for a look at where Chicago sits against the cap. They are likely fine this season with their current group intact, but there'll need to be major changes next summer to accommodate new contracts for captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

0 recs | Comment 9 comments | Add comment | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

They aren’t fine for this year. They’ve got a cap hit that is over the cap even without counting Corey Crawford as their backup goalie ($750k).

Waiving or trading Sopel for no roster players would be the ideal solution for this year to keep their group in tact, but they’d still end up with less than $130k in cap space, and any minor injuries to their D or goaltending could cause issues… and this is Huet we are talking about, he’ll get injured.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Jul 8, 2009 12:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Toews and Kane are on entry-level deals and have large bonuses, and the ‘Hawks are allowed to exceed the cap with those bonuses for now. Once they start hitting them, they’ll want to shed a salary like Sopel’s. They’ve also got a couple too many forwards signed.

It’s really not a dire situation, though.

Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com

by James Mirtle on Jul 8, 2009 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Obviously they don’t want to defer those bonuses to next year, when you’re going to have worse cap problems. Best to shed Sopel’s deal if you can right away.

They have 14 forwards signed. Most teams carry a couple extra. Byfulgien can also play D in a pinch. Ditch Sopel, have Hjalmarsson play full time (or Hendry for a couple thousand more in cap space) and hope and pray you don’t get too many injuries.

It’s not dire, but it’s not comfortable. They made the conference finals without Sopel, and moving his contract should be a priority especially since it counts against next year’s cap as well.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Jul 8, 2009 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this is the key. No team wants to be pressed so close to the cap max, but there is plenty of time for Chicago to maneuver in such a way as to ready themselves for Kane, Keith and Toews. It’s not like October is a week away.

The situation definitely warrants close and constant attention, but I don’t think it’s nearly as dire as a lot of people are making it out to be; they’re certainly not up against any wall, and they have quite a few options.

by ChicoMaki on Jul 8, 2009 1:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Anyone believe the RFA contracts signed here are for more than would be expected if they were not a contoversy?

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself
sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Jul 8, 2009 12:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s a good question, but I don’t think the grievance situation made too great an impact on things, truth be told. I mean, Brouwer, Eager, Fraser and Johnson’s contracts are relatively tiny (Johnson was even slated to go to arbitration, I believe, but chose not to). Barker and Versteeg … well, I suppose the argument can be made that this situation earned them larger contracts; but considering Barker’s offensive numbers and Versteeg’s Calder nomination, I doubt these signings are too far off from what they would have received anyway. Byfuglien, for instance, signed for 3 million last year, and at that time his potential contract value was comparable, I’d say, but not superior, to either of these players.

by ChicoMaki on Jul 8, 2009 1:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought for sure Versteeg was going to be outta here. I’m glad they both signed. The Hawks need to look into getting rid of Sopel and maybe even Buff.

by XxMJ20xX on Jul 8, 2009 2:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs