Chicago Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are two of the world’s best hockey players. They’re now looking to be among the NHL’s highest-paid players.
The two superstars will be unrestricted free agents after the 2014-15 season, which means Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman will have some work to do. Chicago obviously would love to re-sign both players, but that won’t be cheap. TSN reported Thursday that Toews and Kane hope to receive $12 million per season in their next contracts.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported the news, and he also stressed that those figures are starting points. Toews and Kane likely won’t get that figure, but it’s assumed they’ll both make at least $10 million per season. That would be a sizable increase from their current salaries, since the franchise cornerstones signed matching five-year, $31.5 million contracts in 2010.
The good news for Bowman and the Blackhawks is that the NHL salary cap is expected to climb in the coming years. The cap will be around $71 million for the 2014-15 season, but McKenzie hypothesizes the figure will be near $75 million for 2015-16 and increase in seasons after.
Toews and Kane are two of the biggest reasons the Blackhawks have been one of the NHL’s top franchises in the last five years. Kane is one of the game’s best pure offensive players and is coming off a season in which he scored 29 goals in just 69 games and added 20 points in 19 playoff games. Toews is one of the league’s premier two-way players. The former Selke Trophy winner is the team’s captain and considered one of the best leaders in hockey.
Both players were integral parts of the Blackhawks’ 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup championships.
