(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Chicago Blackhawks had an amazing resurrection season in 2008-09, as the youngest team in the league jumped from a joke roster praying for teenagers to lead, to the Western Conference Finals.
Then came this summer's free agents, and the announcement that, just hours after the market opened, Marian Hossa was coming to town.
There's no way something, or someone, could rain on this parade...
Just before the 4th of July, a news release came out that the Blackhawks may have screwed up when filing their paperwork with their seven restricted free agents; apparently none of the players, or their agents, received their letters on time.
In what must have been a hectic holiday weekend, the Hawks fought to clear the air and prove that they had simply made a dumb mistake; General Manager Dale Tallon forgot a national holiday in Canada that delayed the delivery of these crucial parcels.
When the NHL offices investigated the matter, they didn't feel that the Hawks were in error. They passed the file, and their findings, to the players' association.
The NHLPA, however, felt differently about the matter. If the weekend was hectic at the Hawks offices, then Monday was hell. As the NHLPA was filing a formal grievance on behalf of the seven players, the Hawks were trying to keep them all happy with contracts to kill the issue.
On Monday afternoon, the Blackhawks announced that Troy Brouwer, Cory Crawford, Colin Fraser, Ben Eager and Aaron Johnson had agreed to new contracts.
A couple hours later, the NHLPA filed their grievance.
A couple hours after that, the Hawks announced that they had agreed to a new deal with Cam Barker.
For those counting out there, that's a healthy list of six players with fresh ink. There were seven players involved in the issue. The seventh is Calder Trophy Finalist Kris Versteeg, and he's still looking for a pen.
The longer this situation drags, the larger the dollar amount seems to be that Versteeg will receive from the Blackhawks. His agent told ESPN on Tuesday that the two camps are still involved in negotiations, and that Versteeg wants to stay in Chicago.
But the reality is that there are a lot of teams that would give their GM's left leg for a 23-year old who is coming off a rookie season that saw him score 53 regular season points and 12 in the playoffs.
If Versteeg hits the open market, he's got a lot of money coming to him.
Versteeg knows it. So does his agent. So does Tallon. This kid's got the goods, and could be a very, very popular dinner date for 20 general managers this weekend.
Which is why the amount of time it's taking for a deal to happen is becoming increasingly intriguing.
A deeper look at the Blackhawks roster shows the team has a salary cap committment of roughly $51.8 million for 20 players this coming season. This figure is not including Johnson, who's contract dollars haven't been announced, and a second goaltender's contract included because of a pending competition between Crawford and Antti Niemi.
The salary cap in 2009-10 will be $56.8 million, meaning that the Hawks likely have only $4 million in wiggle room with which to sign Versteeg and
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