The next big Blackhawks contracts on the horizon

The Chicago Blackhawks took care of an important piece of business this week as they extended forward Oliver Moore for five years at $4.25 million per season. This was a tidy bit of work by general manager Kyle Davidson to get Moore signed a year before his entry-level-contract (ELC) expires. This is a deal that would likely have been a lot richer if it were signed next summer; the NHL's salary cap is expected to continue rising in the coming seasons.

Moore joins Connor Bedard, Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro and Drew Commesso as Restricted Free Agent's (RFA's) who have extended with the team this year. Unlike Moore, all those players ELC's had expired this summer. Moore is the first player from the 2027 RFA class to extend with the team. With that in mind, let's take a look at what the contracts of the remaining members could look like.

Artyom Levshunov

Artyom Levshunov is probably the biggest one to watch in the near future. Davidson will likely want to get as much of these young players as he can signed early with the changing landscape of the league's marketplace. For Levshunov, it would be in his best interest to play this season out and wait until next summer to sign. It would appear Levshunov could only improve in his sophomore season after what was a roller-coaster rookie season. There will not be as much pressure on him to perform this year with the addition of Bowen Byram taking away much of that spotlight. Byram will be the number one defenseman on the right side and man the first powerplay unit. Levshunov struggled as powerplay quarterback from the point last year. This is an area he should not have to worry about as much with him likely rotating on the second unit.

Overall, Levshunov put in the work this offseason in order to put himself in a strong position to succeed in year two. Depending on what kind of strides he makes, he could set himself up for a major payday when it's time to put pen to paper. A comparable that may be used for Levshunov is the contract Vancouver Canucks defenseman Zeev Buium signed this summer. Buium is a fellow top 2024 draft pick; he extended for eight years at $9.38 million per season. That might seem like a crazy price tag for Arty right now, but that is the route currently taking place on deals with core defenseman. Davidson will probably want coach Jeff Blashill to play that Alex Vlasic-Byram top pair as much as possible.

Sam Rinzel

The noise tends to revolve around Leshunov when it comes to Blackhawks youth defenseman. But, Sam Rinzel is another player that will be one to watch from this regard. Like Levshunov, Rinzel did not have the rookie season that he would have wanted last year. There were noticeable moments where you could see the talent in Rinzel's game, but there were far too many bumps in the road. There's a reason why he split time between Chicago and the Rockford IceHogs last season.

That will not be the case this year, Rinzel is expected to be a full-time piece on this back-end. Levshunov is a guy he will be competing with for minutes on that right side. Whoever looks best of the two will also get more special teams opportunities. There is hope that Rinzel can also see significant growth in his game this year. If he can take a big step forward, he could cash in next summer in a similar way as Levshunov. There is also the possibility he gets overtaken in the running order; the play of Korchinski in preseason/training camp has surely given the Blackhawks brass something to think about.

Wyatt Kaiser

Wyatt Kaiser was one of the few young defenseman on this team that did not struggle last season; he was arguably the most consistent blueliner on the squad. He has been most often utilized on a defensive pair with Levshunov. Kaiser heads into the last season of the two year bridge deal he signed last summer.

If Kaiser can continue to progress in his game; he could set himself up for a nice long-term deal. Vlasic's contract could be used as a roadmap for Kaiser at $4.6 million across six years. With that said, Vlasic signed that deal in a cap world that looked much different than today's climate. Therefore, it would not be surprising to see Kaiser's come in higher than that even though he slots in behind Vlasic on the left-side rotation.

Ryan Greene

Ryan Greene is a player that has done nothing but surpass expectations throughout his Blackhawks tenure to this point. He was the highest producing rookie on a squad filled with first-year players last season. After spending plenty of time on the top line with Bedard, Greene's role on the team this year projects to be lower after all the additions made to the forward core ahead of this campaign.

However, Greene will get the chance to play in a position that makes more sense for him in the long haul this season. A bottom-six defensive shutdown role is logical for Greene, considering the reliable defensive game he has in his arsenal. Moore's recent deal may be the blueprint for Greene, something in the $4 million range would not be a surprise for him.

That is it for the major 2027 RFA's. There is also Landon Slaggert, but there are questions with what that would look like based on the fact he will have to fight for an everyday spot on this team. In terms of Unrestricted Free Agent's: Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Greenway, Andrew Mangiapane, Ian Cole and Arvid Soderblom will be coming off the books. It is difficult to project if there is a future here for these players beyond this season at this point.

Of course, all this is not even taking into account the contracts beyond 2027. There will be another wave on the horizon in 2028 with Anton Frondell and Nick Lardis among the headliners of that RFA class. Patrick Kane and Tyler Bertuzzi top the UFA front. The team will cross that bridge in due time.