The Chicago Blackhawks, Central Division rival, may have just made a terrible decision. This may make the Hawks' front office look quite ridiculous. The division is bound to be an incredibly hard division to play in with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and of course, the Utah Mammoth. Even the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues seem to have some dangerous parts of their team, making the division incredibly hard to do well for Chicago.
A rebuilding team... Not rebuilding?
The Hawks have already overpaid someone this offseason, and now, they have done it again. Former Blackhawk legend Patrick Kane signed a 2-year, $8M AAV deal earlier today. Kane historically is one heck of a goal scorer, and he really hasn't become washed out over the last few seasons. But Kane, 37, is fragile and not the superstar he used to be. Kane is most certainly not worth this much money, and spending it isn't a good idea at all. Not to mention, if there is a team that needs the services of a veteran, it isn't Chicago. Sure, the Hawks want Kane to ride off into the sunset wearing a Blackhawk jersey after a storied career- but that doesn't justify the contract.
If the Carolina Hurricanes showed one thing, it is that veterans can be the driving force behind a Stanley Cup win. However, the Blackhawks are rebuilding and lacking talent. With the division and the Western Conference having so many elite teams, it may be a few years before Chicago is genuinely a threat to do much. Is it impossible for Chicago to compete? No. Is it likely? Absolutely not. For a team that needs to be wise with what they have and try to come back into contention again, this deal is an extremely dumb one.
A 4M AAV is one thing, but eight million is a whole other thing. And again, even then, adding such a veteran isn't going to help Chicago in the long run at all. For Mammoth fans, it is probably nice for such a thing to happen. The path to the playoffs isn't entirely clear, nor will it be easy. But for someone to pull off a deal like this for Kane, it makes Utah's life a bit easier.
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