What does this blockbuster trade between the Blackhawks and Thrashers mean for Chicago’s salary cap issues?
Not Done Yet: Blackhawks Still Have Salary Cap Issues After Trade
It means the Hawks now have $2.3MM in cap space for next season, with 13 players signed. It means the Hawks now have the cap space to qualify (and re-sign, if they are so inclined) Andrew Ladd, Antti Niemi, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jack Skille. It also means they still have at least two big moves to make.
Let’s say Bowman re-signs Ladd, Niemi and Hjalmarsson at $2.75MM, $3MM and 2.25MM, respectively.
That puts them $5.7MM over the cap, with 16 players signed.
I know, I know. Bury Huet in the AHL. Promote Crawford. Okay. Recalculating... All right. Now it’s only $890K over the cap, with 16 players signed. Let’s fill out the roster with minimum wagers, call it $700K per player. Four time $700K is $2.8MM, so add that in, and you get...
$3.7MM over the limit, but with a full roster. So, there are still one or two moves left to make.











