Sebastian Aho

Cap dumps with picks attached and trade bait on one year contracts.

I didn't want to go down that rabbit hole, of UFA's from other teams. This exercise was simply who we have rights to and can pay "in-house". I might be short on some of the cash out the door to this team but Hawks will no doubt have a ton of cap space to pay for anyone they want a year from now. Aho & Matthews are probably a top that list and probably a top right D.

I have a feeling they are going to keep doing the same thing, plugging holes and filling cap space with veterans on short term deals until a handful of our prospects 2nd contracts are figured out. After that I could see more long term acquisitions. Without knowing what their next contracts are going to be, Davidson isn't going to want to put himself in a vulnerable cap situation. He is trying to mitigate tough contract related decisions as much as possible for as long as possible, until we know what we got and can determine what we need.

I think targeting a high end center next summer would've been more realistic had we not drafted both Bedard and Moore this year. Aho and Matthews won't even be on their list at this point, IMO, though.

I appreciate the apprehension but the fact that the Hawks are still barely above the cap floor and the cap is going to spike about 5 mil next year and possibly another 3-4 the following year is perfect timing to add a big fish next year. It's scary how the Cup Era Hawks team is aligning with the new ERA except we will have the knowledge of not overpaying for bottom 6 players going foward...

Follow this mirrored era comparison...

Kane = Bedard (easy comp with Bedard having more upside pre-NHL by far)
Toews = Moore (2 totally different players but in terms of draft spot and position I think its fair to compare)
Campbell = Jones (both top puck-moving D we had to overpay to come before the glory days started, both good players that probably will never be as loved by the fans due to the contracts)
Keith = Korchinski (not even close to being true yet but the idea is there)
Seabrook = TBD honestly I think Seabrook was a fan favorite who ended up being a product of the talent around him that elevated his game. After we paid him the love was gone because of the contract.

Hossa = TBD, I think it's Matthews or Aho in one year's time.

The lesson learned is no more "love" contracts... Bedard is in a level all alone and won't have an equal on the team and will be paid as such. The dual Kane & Towes contracts really hurt. The not filling the RFA paperwork on time for guys like Versteeg & Hammer really hurt. Paying Seabrook when his body and his career were clearly on the decline hurt. If Bick's would have been diagnosed in Chicago we would not have had to trade away TT. The hard lessons of the cap that won us Cups but we can learn and improve from the mistakes.

Oh I definitely get it. But that team and those moves were many years in the making. Keith was one of the first pieces of the cup era and was drafted in 2002, Hossa wasn't signed by CHI until 2009. So, following that formula, a "Hossa type" signing wont even happen until 2029, at which point the entire free agent or trade acquisition field will be entirely different and most of the players people think we should be signing now or next summer will be old and on their way out of the NHL.

Also, those types of acceleration contracts, along with overpaying bottom of the lineup role players, is what got us into trouble. They will take their time and figure out next contracts, and calculate very carefully whether someone is worth going after now or not. I doubt they go after a "big fish". BUT, it really depends on everyones development by the end of next season. If the trajectory of our prospects seems to be coming together quick enough, I could see them making one or two big UFA signings. It wouldn't surprise me, but it also doesn't seem to align with the rebuild plan and goal of "long term success" that they preach so often. They don't want to have to make tough decisions between aging players and their up and coming ones, and they don't want to overcommit and then have to pay a kings ransom to dump older players that are underperforming their contracts, which they would have to use picks and prospects to do in turn depleting the pipeline and reducing CHI's window for success. To me, that screams "short term success" and "lack of foresight".

The other thing to keep in mind is that the "Hossa type" deals will never happen again and signing a top-tier talent like Matthews or Aho will only max out at 7 years. In today's NHL you can really only afford splurge on 5-6 key players and fill in the rest of the team on cap-friendly deals.

Hypothetically check out this scneario based on Cap Hits 5 years from now...

Project Cap of $93 mil per season

1. Bedard $13 mil per
2. Jones $9.5 mil per
3. Moore $7 mil per
4. Korchinski $6 mil per
5. Vlasic $4 mil per
6. Matthews or Aho at $13 mil per

Total AAV = $52.5 mil per 56% of your cap on an amazing 6 stars with 44% of your cap to fill out the roster around them.

Aho extends before the season probably

We just need to find our new Hossa

Matthews would look great in red imagine Matthews & Bedard on the PP... deadly!

Sure. Definitely fun to think about.