The Chicago Blackhawks and forward Alex DeBrincat have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2022–23 season. The extension carries an average annual value of $6.4 million.
Welcomed news to all of the Chicago Blackhawks community, the team locked up star forward Alex DeBrincat to a three-year contract extension on Thursday, just over 24 hours before the team drops the puck for the 2019–20 season. DeBrincat, 21, has been an offensive catalyst for the Blackhawks since taking the ice in Chicago in 2017. The second-round pick from 2016 has 128 points through his first 164 NHL games with Chicago, topping the 40-goal mark last season with 41 tallies. He has not missed a game in his first two seasons in Chicago.
Breakdown: Year 1, $5.1 million (includes some SB money); Year 2, $5.1 million (all salary); Year 3, $9 million (all salary) https://t.co/wfvQIb78HJ
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 3, 2019
With DeBrincat’s deal extending through the 2022–23 season, he will remain a restricted free agent once the contract ends.
The Cat is BACK!
Alex DeBrincat has signed a 3-year contract extension that runs through the 2022-23 season, with an AAV of $6,400,000. #Purr #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/rF4ztP9YON
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 3, 2019
At $6.4 million AAV for three years, the deal is heavily favored by the team as they try to navigate signing both DeBrincat and his friend, center Dylan Strome, to long-term deals. Former teammates with the Erie Otters in the OHL, DeBrincat and Strome were reunited midway through last season and paired on the second line together. After an underwhelming start to his professional career with the Coyotes organization, Strome broke out for 51 points in his 58 games with the Blackhawks.
As the Kane and Toews era of the Blackhawks begins to turn the corner, Chicago is hoping that DeBrincat and Strome can be the next focal points of the organization up front to lead the team for years to come. Signing DeBrincat now gives the Blackhawks that window of opportunity.