The Chicago Blackhawks are entering the 2022-23 NHL season in something they should have started a while ago, a rebuild.
The roster looks completely different compared to last year, the team has two first-round draft picks already in the system for the upcoming draft, and the list of players that could be moved before the season ends basically includes all the players on the roster.
The Hawks are in a new position going into the season, they are in a position they have not been in a long time.
Today I want to review the team’s salary cap situation a little by highlighting the three highest-paid players on the roster. Two of the players on this list have been here for a long time, while the newcomer recently is seeing a contract extension kick in that is going to make him the highest-paid player on this team for a long time.
Before I jump in, I want to kick things off by looking at the cap space. The Hawks have 7.5 million in cap space as projected by CapFriendly, while in years past that might mean the team would be going out to bring in talent, but that is not the case this year.
The Blackhawks, under the leadership of Kyle Davidson as general manager, are going to try and use their cap space like a weapon to bring in assets to take on a bad contract or retain some salary in a three-player trade. The team is in a position to add more draft picks to their organization and the only way they are going to do that is by bringing on some money.
While this piece targets the top three highest-paid players on the team, I want to take a second and acknowledge the tier below the most expensive contracts.
Here are all the players making three to five million:
Tyler Johnson – 5 million through the 2023-24 season
Connor Murphy – 4.4 million through the 2025-26 season
Jake McCabe – 4 million through the 2024-25 season
Petr Mrázek – 3.8 million through the 2023-24 season
Andreas Athanasiou – 3 million through the 2022-23 season
Max Domi – 3 million through the 2022-23 season
Domi and Athanasiou were signed this offseason to be dealt at the deadline for picks and prospects basically. Mrázek is an option for the team in net while they rebuild and the top three players all have been with the team before.
I think Murphy would be an interesting addition for a team if they are willing to pay the price of the cap hit, and Johnson could be a good deadline additional if the Blackhawks hold half of his salary which they probably would for the right return.
Now without further ado let’s jump in with the three most expensive contracts.