Chicago Blackhawks: Pekka Rinne's Extension Shows the Value of Corey Crawford

The Chicago Blackhawks signed goalie Corey Crawford to a three-year, $8 million contract extension this summer. His counterpart in Nashville, Pekka Rinne, will soon approach the whole of Crawford's deal each season.

The Predator netminder is going to cash in, but Crawford is anything but cut-rate in the crease.

Rinne signed a seven-year, $49 million extension on November 3rd. That was also the big Finn's 29th birthday. The deal more than doubles his current cap hit of $3.4 million and will run until he turns 36. For a club a cost-conscious as Nashville, it's a big move.

It also illustrates the choice that teams have to make with the salary cap.

Chicago, after being bitten by chasing big-money goalies in Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet, has a solid young goaltender at a reasonable rate. This has allowed them to keep Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the 'Hawks blue line.

Now that Rinne has his big deal in hand, how are the Predators going to keep their top defensive pair in town? Ryan Suter is an unrestricted free agent and the price tag on RFA Shea Weber looks to be more than the $7.5 million arbitration ruling he received this summer.

Advantage? 'Hawks.

Give Rinne his due here. He is an elite goalie deserving of his runner-up finish in the Vezina voting and fourth-place Hart finish. On the other hand, he is aided by a system that protects him to a certain extent. Would he be as dominating without Weber and Suter in front of him?

The Blackhawks will find themselves in a similar position in the 2013-14 season, when Crawford will turning 29 and in the final year of his current deal. Crawford has shown last season's performance is no fluke and that he's a legitimate NHL starter in net.

Will Chicago dole out a long-term, big money deal? Will they choose to develop a younger, cheaper replacement and spread the cash outlay to other areas of the organization?

I'm glad the 'Hawks don't have to weigh those options for quite awhile.