The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years on Monday. They paraded the trophy through the Windy City on Thursday. Now, the team must face some tough offseason questions.
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The Blackhawks have many decisions to make with several of their players when it comes to staying under the salary cap as they chase another Stanley Cup next season, and two of those players are forwards Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp.
Saad, who notched career-highs in goals (23), assists (29) and points (52) in the regular season and followed it up with eight tallies in the Stanley Cup playoffs and two markers in the Stanley Cup Final, can become a restricted free agent on July 1.
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Saad said he hopes to remain with the club for a long time.
"It's about winning, and we have a tight group here," Saad told NHL.com. "I'm close with a lot of the guys. It's fun out there on the ice and off the ice, so the goal is to be in Chicago."
General manager Stan Bowman wants to oblige Saad, so it appears the two sides will likely work out a long-term deal this offseason.
"He's grown as a player," Bowman said. "We want him to continue to grow and take a bigger role next year. We've seen him emerge over the last couple of seasons. He's just starting to grow into a big role on our team, and that's going to continue for many years to come. We'll work that out."
Saad, 22, was drafted by Chicago in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft and also won the Cup with the club in 2013. He has 52 goals, 74 assists and 126 points through 208 games with the Blackhawks in the regular season.
While things are looking up for Saad, the future of Sharp is uncertain as the team may part ways with the veteran due to his $5.9 million annual salary, so he could become a cap casualty.
Sharp said he wasn't thinking about his future, but he knows he may be moved before the puck drops on the 2015-16 campaign.
"I haven't really put much thought into it," Sharp told NHL.com. "It's been a whirlwind couple days. To win a third Stanley Cup in this city is something that I'll always remember. It's pretty special. It's a huge accomplishment and these last couple days have been crazy. I'm sure the next few days, when things wind down a little bit, that will be more of a topic of conversation."
Sharp, 33, has been with the Blackhawks since 2005 and was on all three Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2010, 2013 and this season.
In 679 games with Chicago, Sharp has 239 goals, 271 assists and 511 regular season points and is 43-38--81 in 129 playoff games.
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