"It seems every year the Chicago Blackhawks are trying to find ways to free up some salary cap space. Unfortunately it usually means giving up some young talent and/or draft picks to get rid of salary cap problems. The Blackhawks and general manager Stan Bowman might get lucky with a one time compliance buyout this time around. Back in 2013 the Blackhawks were able to use compliancy buyouts on Steve Montador and Rotislav Olesz. With the NHL looking at a flat cap for next year, there's been speculation they could help teams out by allowing a one time compliance buy out. This would really open up some salary cap space for teams as a compliance buyout doesn't count against the salary cap. There's a couple of candidates on the Blackhawks' roster but one contract sticks out like a sore thumb. Brent Seabrook is signed through the 2023-24 season and carries a $6.875million salary cap hit every year. That's exactly why Jonathan Willis of the Athletic believes Seabrook would make perfect sense.
Check out what he had to say on Seabrook in the Athletic: "Seabrook was an important part of three championships with Chicago, which is perhaps why the Blackhawks abandoned good sense and signed him to an eight-year, $55-million contract that would carry him through his 40th birthday. There aren't a lot of good 39-year-old defencemen, and the deal was extravagant even before it got loaded with signing bonuses and a no-movement clause. This summer will mark the halfway point of the contract. At the time of the NHL's pause, the 34-year-old Seabrook had four points in 32 games, was averaging a career-low 18 minutes per game and was statistically one of the worst defencemen in hockey. That combination of age, term, structure and performance makes him a no-brainer in the event of compliance buyouts." Do you think if the NHL allows a compliance buyout Seabrook is gone?
