This is an article that I’ve been pondering since Andrew Shaw was made the first line left wing.

See, I always knew that this was going to happen. The chemistry with Toews, even not playing, was just too good. Shaw had proved himself during the playoffs and the first line needs the energy he brings. When Dano didn’t work out this was a foregone conclusion, at least for me.

And therein lies the problem, and the reason for this article. I always thought that Stanbo would sign Shaw to an extension before promoting him. At this current moment, it is too late to sign Shaw to a rational deal which would secure the Blackhawks a long term LW at a reasonable, cap friendly price.

And we now run into problems. We will have to work within the salary cap, and with the Canadian Dollar still not getting better (yet, the last act of Stephen Harper was to drive it straight into the ground) the cap will remain roughly the same. But we now have players that are huge components of this team and need contracts.

Here are the Free Agents within the next two years:

Andrew Shaw (Restricted) 2016
Marcus Kruger (Restricted) 2016
Richard Panik (Restricted) 2016
Dennis Rasmussen (Restricted) 2016
Philip Danault (Restricted) 2016
Brandon Mashinter (Restricted) 2016
Ryan Garbutt (Unrestricted) 2017
Teuvo Teravainen (Restricted) 2017
Artemi Panarin (Restricted) 2017
Andrew Desjardins (Unrestricted) 2017
Erik Gustaffson (Restricted) 2017

That’s a lot of people we could be losing. The whole fourth line (as I predict it will stand come playoffs [Rasmussen-Kruger-Garbutt]) will need re-signing within the next two years. So will the whole third line. There are players we can afford to let leave like Mashinter and Panik. But that ends it.

So what can be done about this situation? Well, flexibility is going to need to be key. If we’re able to re-sign Danault and Kruger to cheap long term contracts that ensures our center depth going into the future. Stan has been shown to be great at making selections, and Vinnie Hinostraza has looked good in the brief window’s he’s appeared in. He should be ready to be the fifth and emergency center going into the future.

If we go deep in the playoffs, expect the retirement of Scuderi and Roszival. While their current play means they will both be missed, it’s about time we see Pokka in the big leagues so Stan can make a decision on his future with the team. Goose and TVR will of course be our four and five going into the future (assuming Goose is extended very soon). Also expect Bryan Bickell to be traded before the deadline. Any room we can make for contracts is great at this point. Even if that means trading Bickell with a third round pick AND keeping 1 mil of his contract for a modest return. Good news is the whole contract will be off the books in 2017.

That’s the good news. Now here’s the bad. The team will inevitably see changes. While we wish for our favorites to be a part of this squad forever, what’s important is the core group of players. Think about how much the team has changed since 2009-2010. Six players remain. Toews, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson. While we may be down to five soon, someone from the current team (either Shaw or Panarin) will be added to the core in Hossa’s place.

Here’s the people we absolutely have to re-sign: Andrew Shaw, Artemi Panarin, Erik Gustafsson, Teuvo Teravainen, Marcus Kruger, and Philip Danault. That’s it. If they are all willing to stay under 3 mil (it may take some convincing for the soon to be Calder winner Artemi Panarin) we could find the room. We’re going to be rebuilding. But that doesn’t mean we have to be bad. We never HAVE to be bad.