Seabrook signs 8-year, $55M extension

The long-rumored contract extension between the Chicago Blackhawks and veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook is reportedly close.

Seabrook, who is second among all-time Blackhawks defencemen in game-winning goals with 14, has helped the team to three Stanley Cup titles over the past six years. He joins the rest of the team’s top players – Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the blue line, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Marian Hossa on offense – with a deal that ensures he’ll be around through all of his peak years of play. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweeted Saturday that sources had indicated to him that the two sides are “closing in” on a deal which is likely to pay Seabrook an AAV of .85 million.

Championship level teams – including the Blackhawks – investing a significant portion of their cap space into a small number of players isn’t a new development, and Chicago has always found a way to make it work even as it’s had to jettison depth players over the years. With their experience and leadership capabilities, it would be hard to count them out.

Seabrook, 30, is entering the final year of a five-year, $29 million contract, which carries a $5.8 million salary cap hit. “So, he was one of them, but well-deserved”. If they don’t give Seabrook this deal, someone else does next summer.

“In the locker room, [Seabrook’s is] the voice that’s probably heard the loudest and most noticeable”, Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters when explaining why Seabrook was made an alternate captain.

The Blackhawks have been extremely loyal to their core players and have been rewarded with three Stanley Cups in six years.