Chicago Blackhawks: What's It Going To Take To Lock Up Brent Seabrook?

By locking up forwards Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith to long-term extensions last season, the Chicago Blackhawks provided an early Christmas present to their fan base and sent a message to the rest of the NHL that Chicago is serious about building a perennial title contender.

This year, it's time to finish the job.

The organization has placed a priority on signing their core players; young talented skaters who propelled the team to the 2010 Stanley Cup.  The Hawks have locked up their captain (Toews), young gun (Kane), 2010 Norris Trophy winner (Keith), and one of the leagues best two-way players (Hossa) for multiple seasons.  Defensemen Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson will be in Indian sweaters for the next few years, which locks up Chicago's top two defensive lines.

Except for Brent Seabrook.

The 25 year-old Seabrook has a Olympic gold medal as well as a Stanley Cup ring to his credit, and makes up half of arguably the best young defensive pairing in the NHL.  He currently leads Blackhawk blue liners in goals as well as plus/minus rating.  He is also in the last year of his three-year contract extension, which is currently paying him 3.5 million dollars.

Seabrook has gotten off to a solid start, logging big minutes in the wake of Campbell's month-long absence.  Going into Wednesday's game in New Jersey, he leads all Blackhawk defensemen in goals and plus/minus, and his time on ice is second only to Keith.

Seabrook will be a restricted free agent at year's end, so the Hawks could wait until the season ends, tender an offer, and then start negotiations.  However, San Jose jacked up Hjalmarsson's salary (and forced the team to part ways with Antti Niemi, for better or worse) with an offer sheet last summer.  If Hammer got a four-year, 14 million dollar offer, what will other NHL teams pony up for Seabrook?

I know that offer sheets aren't that common in the league, but a division or conference rival could make it hard on our future cap space with an offer to Seabrook.

What kind of raise are the Blackhawks going to be able to offer Seabrook?  The Hawks have four million dollars in bonuses to Kane and Toews that come off the cap next season; I'd pencil in at least half of that to bump Seabrook's salary to approach that of his line mate Keith.

Will Chicago be able to spread out the cap damage with a long-term deal like they did with Keith?   That depends on the parties involved, along with the NHL.

Here's a scary thought; is there a possibility that the Hawks believe that Seabrook could be replaced within the organization?

Get off the ledge.  I don't think this is remotely possible.

Nick Leddy will likely be here for the 2011-12 season.  Shawn Lalonde is thought of highly by the organization, but he still might be a year away at that point.  Besides, neither guy has the physical presence that Seabrook brings to the rink every night.  We've seen the defense struggle without Campbell.  Do the Hawks really want to see how it runs without Seabrook?

Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman expressed a desire to open negotiations with the Seabrook camp once a tumultuous summer of cap maneuvering was over.  So far, however, it's been quiet.

I guess the decision comes down to whether the Hawks consider Seabrook part of their core, and how much he is in line to receive.  I consider him to be part of that core; his best years should still be ahead of him.  I can't think of a better team to benefit from those years as Chicago.

Getting Brent Seabrook's name on a contract would be another early holiday present for Blackhawks fans in 2010.