Joined: Jan. 2017
Posts: 80
Likes: 13
I'm going to stop even looking at "Armchair-GM" rosters with a Seabrook trade in them. I'm a Blackhawks fan and Seabrook's contract is toxic and untradeable. It's time to accept that. Seabrook is not going to approve a trade to a non-Cup contending/rebuilding team and those are the teams that MIGHT consider taking him along with a couple prospects and/or some retained salary to make the cap floor but his contract is just way too long to be practical for even a rebuilding team to take on. He's signed 6 more years - longer than Toews, Kane, and Keith! The term was a HUGE mistake - it should have been a 6 year, $6m a year deal maximum or they should have let him leave as a UFA. Seabrook is going to be on the Blackhawks roster and count against the cap for them until one of the following 4 things happen: He's demoted to the AHL and clears waivers and chooses to retire (some of his contract will still count against the cap if he plays in the AHL), he retires from the NHL before his contract is over, he sustains an injury that puts him on the LTIR for the rest of his career, or another owners' lock out results in another compliance buyout (or two) being added to the cap structure and the Blackhawks use it on Seabrook (even then some of his contract would count against the cap). I saw one hockey analyst speculate that the Blackhawks might be able to make an attractive offer to the Seattle expansion team with some prospects to take Seabrook but I don't think that'll happen or that Seabrook would approve it plus players with a NMC have to be protected under the expansion draft rules.