ESPN's Chicago correspondent Al Cimaglia offers his perspective on the decisions facing Blackhawks management regarding pending UFAs and RFAs:
Free-agent decisions key to Stanley Cup
Bolland, Versteeg among keys
June 1, 2009,Al Cimaglia/ESPN CHICAGO
Although the Blackhawks still have a lot to prove, management can now move forward as though there were a three-year window to win the Stanley Cup.
Three Hawks stars -- forward Jonathan Toews, forward Patrick Kane and defenseman Duncan Keith -- all have contracts that expire after next season. In addition, the upcoming July 1 free-agent period, as well as the pending free-agent status of some current players, is also figuring into Blackhawks management's plans for next season. All of that on top of identifying the players that can help the team reach the Stanley Cup finals.
Some Chicago players have already been identified as key members of the squad, if the length and hefty salary amounts of their current contracts are any indication. Forward Patrick Sharp is paid as though he were a big part of the future, as is defenseman Brent Seabrook. Goaltender Cristobal Huet and winger Dustin Byfuglien are also being paid as though they were main components of the Hawks' future success. Huet is under contract for another three seasons, and so is Sharp. Byfuglien and Seabrook are under contract for two more years.
At this point, Huet and Byfuglien might not have proved to be untouchable Blackhawks. Huet, who has three years left on a four-year, $22.5 million deal, will be very difficult to trade. Byfuglien, who will earn $3 million per year for the next two seasons, is being paid for potential. Although Byfuglien did show what he is capable of in the latter part of the season, he wound up with only 31 points for the regular season. Right now, both Byfuglien and Huet have to be considered overpaid. Byfuglien might dazzle other clubs with his potential as a power forward, so he would be easier to deal if management so desired.
The next of many decisions facing Blackhawks management would be whether to identify restricted free agent (RFA) forwards Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg as key components of any Stanley Cup finals team. After those questions are answered, then restricted free agent defenseman Cam Barker's Hawks future needs to be evaluated.
Decisions on the contracts for these restricted free agents will influence the amount of salary-cap space available for unrestricted free agents and other players.
Bolland and Versteeg in particular, are in line for significant raises. Bolland was about an $845,000 salary cap hit last season, while Versteeg earned slightly more than $490,000.
The Blackhawks will have less than four weeks to negotiate with Bolland, Versteeg and Barker without the added pressure of other teams being involved. After July 1, other teams can have a crack at all three players.
Most likely, the Blackhawks will soon make a qualifying offer to the trio. If the Blackhawks didn't "qualify" their restricted free agents, they would automatically become unrestricted free agents (UFA) on July 1.
Barker has some different issues as to whether the Hawks will want to include him as a mainstay for the future. Last season, he accounted for slightly over a $2.7 million salary-cap hit, which included bonuses. That same amount would be reduced next season due to the reinstatement of the bonus cushion under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement. So most likely Barker will be less of a salary-cap burden next season.
It is difficult to give up a young defenseman, especially one that was a third overall draft pick. Possibly if Barker is not in the Hawks' plans to be a top-four defender, they might feel paying $2,000,000 or more for a number-five defenseman is too steep. Barker has made strides and has some offensive talent, but the emergence of defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson could make him expendable.
That's another tough choice for the Blackhawks as Barker is effective in steering the power play.
There are also some unrestricted free agents available that could fill in as a number-five or -six defenseman, but they wouldn't have the offensive skill of Barker. Bolland and Versteeg are an easier choice to become Blackhawk core players than Barker.
For certain, the Hawks would at least offer a qualifying deal to Bolland, Versteeg and Barker, as they would not want them to become unrestricted free agents. If that were the case, they could then go anywhere to play without compensation coming back to Chicago.
In the case of unrestricted free agents, they can negotiate with another club as soon as July 1. Their current team is not eligible for any compensation, and this will be the situation for veteran winger Martin Havlat and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, if they are not re-signed before then by Chicago.
The NHL entry draft begins June 26 in Montreal. Right afterward, restricted free agents can negotiate with other franchises if they haven't accepted a contract offer from their current club. The proposed contract offer from another team to a restricted free agent is called an offer sheet.
If another team wanted to extend an offer sheet to Bolland, Vertseeg or Barker, the Hawks would be able to match it and retain their services. The players would then stay Chicago players for at least one year before they would be eligible to be traded.
Once an offer sheet from another club is accepted by the restricted free agent, his original team can only decide to match the proposed offer within seven days.
For example, the Blackhawks could not decide to negotiate a different contract; they would be bound to the proposed offer sheet's salary amount and terms.
The NHL collective bargaining agreement is about 600 pages long and can get complicated, and I don't pretend to be an expert. My effort now is to enable readers to understand only the important elements affecting Blackhawks decision-makers by including some pertinent restricted free agent and unrestricted free agent factors.
The compensation from the restricted free agent's new club back to the original team is significant.
Draft picks have never been more important for a team's success as they currently are in the salary-cap age. By drafting well, a team can get young impact players for a relatively low cost. Sacrificing draft picks can be a tricky proposal, and that is a major reason offer sheets have not become more prevalent around the NHL.
An opportunistic franchise could target a player on a team that has salary-cap issues. The result would be either to retain the services of the restricted free agent or force the original team to pay more than they would have wanted. It is a risky game to just make a high offer trying to squeeze another team into heightened salary-cap dilemma.
In my view, it isn't prudent for another franchise to pick a fight they won't be able to win. Sometimes, it is obvious an offer sheet will be matched. The result then would be only to make an enemy, mostly likely one with a long memory.
If I were another general manager, Hawks owner Rocky Wirtz and Hawks general manager Dale Tallon would not be my first choice to play hardball against.
Business is business, so there could be a couple of teams interested in Blackhawks restricted free agents and possibly willing to extend them an offer sheet.
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that could be true, will be one interesting off season for sure.