Blackhawks Re-Sign Six Players, Including Cam Barker

The Chicago Blackhawks responded quickly to a grievance filed by the NHLPA on Monday over their improper qualifications of their restricted free agents by signing right wing Troy Brouwer and goaltender Corey Crawford to two-year contracts, left wing Ben Eager, center Colin Fraser, and defenseman Aaron Johnson to one-year contracts worth $965,000, $700,000, and $550,000, respectively, and defenseman Cam Barker to a three year contract worth $9.25 million. Barker’s deal averages out to $3.083 million per season, while Brouwer’s contract was worth $2 million, averaging out to $1 million per season. The financial terms of Crawford’s deal were not announced. The NHL launched an investigation into the Blackhawks late last week over whether their restricted free agents received proper notification of their qualifying offers. The offers, which were mailed on June 29, weren’t received by some of the players until after July 1. The NHLPA has filed a grievance with the league stating that the qualifying offers should be invalid because they didn’t reach the players in time, thus making them unrestricted free agents. The Blackhawks have remedied this by quickly signing their restricted free agents to new contracts. In 68 games last season with the Blackhawks, Barker scored six goals and 34 assists for 40 points. Brouwer appeared in 69 games last season with the team, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. Eager played in 75 games last season with the team, scoring 11 goals and four assists for 15 points and 161 penalty minutes. Fraser appeared in 81 games with the Blackhawks last season, scoring six goals and 11 assists for 17 points and 55 penalty minutes. In 38 games in 2008-09 with the Blackhawks, Johnson scored three goals and five assists for eight points and 33 penalty minutes. Crawford did not play in any regular season games last season for the team.

Wise signings for Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon, as it’s obvious he did not want to take a chance at losing his young players to unrestricted free agency if the league sides with the players’ association. Barker is quickly developing into a very skilled offensive defenseman and will likely anchor the team’s blueline for years to come. Brouwer is quickly developing into a decent third line forward with his toughness and offensive abilities. Eager is a very physical forward who plays with lots of grit, making him a valuable asset to the Blackhawks’ checking lines. Fraser is another tough, physical forward for the team who will likely play next season on either the third or fourth line. Johnson is a very tough defenseman who plays very physical. He will likely be the Blackhawks’ sixth or seventh defenseman next season. Crawford is a very skilled goaltender who has the potential to become a starter one day for the Blackhawks. He will likely be the back-up for Cristobal Huet next season.