It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. Things are usually quiet this time of year, but general managers aren’t just on auto-pilot. There’s plenty of work for GMs this time of year. In recent editions of NHL rumours, we’ve been focusing on a number of restricted free agents that yet to have deals. We’re just over a month away from the start of training camp in September. However, executives would like to get these deals done before teams hit the ice.
One team that has a key RFA to sign is the Chicago Blackhawks. This edition of NHL rumours takes a look at a defenceman that needs a new deal for the Blackhawks.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Update on Talks with Chicago Blackhawks RFA Defenceman
Rumour: Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times gave an update on where things stand regarding a new deal for defenceman Wyatt Kaiser. The youngster is an RFA, but remains unsigned.
Analysis: It’s been a relatively quiet off-season for Chicago, which is still in the middle of its rebuild. The Blackhawks are trying to make their way back up the standings, but it’s been slow going. Many were hoping the team would remove itself from the cellar of the Central Division. However, that’s not happened as of yet.
Despite the struggles, there have been some bright spots for Chicago. One of those has been the play of the 23-year-old blueliner. The 2024-25 campaign was the first one where Kaiser got sustained minutes. Kaiser registered four goals in 57 games last season. It looks like the Andover, Minn. native is going to figure prominently into the teams’ plans.
However, Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson needs to find a deal for the youngster. Kaiser is coming off his entry-level deal that saw him making $916,667 per season. It seems like he’s destined to get a decent pay raise.
Chicago already made one signing of a restricted free agent in goalie Arvid Soderblom. However, there’s still work to be done in getting Kaiser a new contract.
What It Means
Some were hoping that Kaiser would have inked a deal on his birthday (July 31). However, no agreement was reached. Despite this, Pope said that a deal should be reached soon. Pope gave his projections on what Kaiser’s next contract may look like.
Projections have the dollar amount coming out to $2.5 million per season. However, the term for the next contract is three years. This is the prototypical bridge deal that younger players seem to be interested in signing. Bridge contracts are usually around one to three years and that seems to be a trend with younger players.
The rising salary cap means that general managers will likely have more money to play with. Many younger players might consider these shorter-term contracts as a chance to get themselves a much-larger payday down the way.
These younger players are betting on themselves and you might not see a bunch of longer-term deals in the next few years. Kaiser might take a short-term contract in order to score big later.
Main photo by: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
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