Blackhawks Extend Toews, Kane, Keith

The Chicago Blackhawks locked up three important pieces of their future by announcing multi-year contract extensions to center Jonathan Toews, right wing Patrick Kane, and defenseman Duncan Keith. Toews and Kane both signed five-year, $31.5 million deals, while Keith signed a 13-year contract worth $72 million. Toews and Kane's deals average out to $6.3 million per season, while Keith's averages out to $5.5 million per year. In 22 games so far this season, Toews has seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points, while Kane has nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points in 28 games. Keith has five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 28 games so far this season. These are great signings for the Blackhawks, as Toews has exceptional goal-scoring skills and is a great leader on the ice, Kane has excellent offensive skills, especially on the power play, while Keith gives the team plenty of offensive production from the blueline. These signings will help keep the Blackhawks a competitive team for the foreseeable future. The major downside to these signings is that the Blackhawks are going to have to shed some salary during the offseason in order to accommodate the new contracts. Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Seabrook, Cam Barker, and Brent Sopel have all been mentioned as possible trade candidates to help the Blackhawks trim their payroll. However, don't expect to see any of these players get traded until the summer, as Kane, Toews, and Keith's new contracts don't kick in until July 1 and if the Blackhawks are going to make a run for the Stanley Cup this season, they will need all of these players. It shouldn't be too hard for the team to move any of the aforementioned players during the summer, as they all have plenty of skill and don't have terribly expensive contracts.