Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
No. They have crashed primarily because of the money that is tied up on their top end, which does not provide the same flexibility around which to build a great roster. Chicago's Cups all happened when Toews and Kane were on reasonable second contracts, with Kieth on a back-diving deal that is now illegal under the current cap structure, and with room for supplemental players like Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp.
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This year they are sucking. Last year they are sucking.
However, the previous year they still won the conference before being swept by the surprising Stanley Cup finalist Predators.
That 2016-2017 season had:
Kane making 10.5M
Toews making 10.5M
Seabrook making 6.9M
Crawfood making 6.0M
Keith making 5.5M
That was their core, the same core making the same amount. So what's the real difference?
Probably most notably (outside of the aging core) is trading Panarin for Saad...That wasn't a cap move they ended up making the same amount, that was just a bad trade. Panarin was a PPG player, Saad put up 35 points. Imagine the Flames trading Monahan for Ryan Strome...
Losing Hossa obviously hurt as well.