There’s a new position becoming very important in the new NHL salary cap era. For lack of a better term we’ll call it a “Capoligist”. With the cap expected to shrink in the coming seasons, there’s a big problem for teams with a plethora of young talent who will be looking to sign their first significant restricted free agent contracts. The Chicago Blackhawks are a team that will get up-close and personal with this dilemma in the near future.
Hawks general manager Dale Tallon already has $42.473 million tied up in 11 skaters and 1 goaltender going into next season, with young stars like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith, to name a few, coming up as restricted free agents next summer. These are players who will be looking for star calibre money, and with over $42 million already allocated to other players next season, it’s safe to say the ‘Hawks will be looking to move out some contracts to make cap space to sign them.
Having just signed Cam Barker and Kris Versteeg to just over $3 million each for next year, look for possible movement for each player as well as Patrick Sharp, who will be earning $4 million next year.
This not to say it’s all doom and gloom in the windy city though. There are certainly worse problems to face than having too much young talent. It will be interesting to follow what the ‘Hawks do at the trade deadline as they try to figure out how to solve this quagmire, and still take a shot at the Cup.