The Blackhawks have been busy in recent days with the two-year extensions that they’ve handed out to winger Nick Foligno and center Jason Dickinson.
It appears as if they may not be done on that front as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports that there is mutual interest in exploring a possible extension with goaltender Petr Mrazek; Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggests the netminder is likely to be the next one to ink a new deal to stay in Chicago.
The 31-year-old came to the Blackhawks back in 2022 in a salary-dumping move by Toronto. Mrazek struggled in his first season with the team but has fared much better this season, posting a .913 SV% through his first 29 games.
That puts him in the top 20 league-wide among goalies with at least 10 appearances so far while doing so on an injury-ravaged rebuilding team that’s in a battle for the basement.
Mrazek is currently making $3.8M and while that amount might seem high for a netminder who has been more of a platoon player throughout his career, the market rate for those types of goalies has gone up in recent years.
A year ago, it looked as if he was heading for a considerable cut in pay but now, something around this price point, if not a small raise, is within the realm of possibility on a short-term agreement.
The Blackhawks have 24-year-old Arvid Soderblom as their other goaltender and he has struggled considerably this season, posting a save percentage of just .875. Meanwhile, Drew Commesso is one of their better prospects but the 21-year-old has struggled a bit with the IceHogs, posting a .894 SV% through his first 17 appearances.
Jaxson Stauber, who made six appearances with Chicago last season, hasn’t fared any better with Rockford either.
Accordingly, having a veteran netminder around for another year or two makes some sense for GM Kyle Davidson. It seems that his preference for now is that Mrazek continues to be that veteran option, a desire that appears to be mutual.
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