I'm so glad people are finally recognizing this and I'm not totally crazy. For the past couple years I've been saying I really don't think they're that good.. and it's really just because of cap limitations due to a few bloated contracts.

I honestly think Edmonton just did the same thing and are limiting the potential they had by giving $21M to McDavid and Drai

Kane and Toews were not their first RFA contracts after coming out of their ELCs. The Oilers have wrapped up Connor and Leon in their younger years....which might be good for getting best value for the buck.
I thought the Oilers really overpaid Draisaitl in both salary and term. He has a lot to prove to to live up to getting top 10 forward money.
Why the Hawks thought they had to extend Seabrook into his mid to late 30s is puzzling and maybe crippling. And Kopitar as UFA getting 10m. Who else would offer 10m?

Comparing Draisaitl to Malkin is foolish. Malkin was putting up 47 goals and 106 points running his own line at that age - 30 of those goals at even strength. Draisaitl scored a grand total of 3 even strength goals in the 35 games he didn't play with McDavid last year, putting him on pace for just 7 while on his own line.

NOT.

EVEN.

CLOSE.

The Kane and Toews contracts definitely hurt the Hawks and many people knew they would. But the contract that truly is hurting the Hawks right now and will into the future is the Seabrook contract. The Kane-Toews contracts are similar to the Crosby-Malkin contracts in terms of percentage when signed and we all saw how long it took the Penguins to come back into true contender status. The same would probably have been true for the hawks but the Seabrook contract will hold them back even longer if not keep them from ever getting back.



At age 20. Its not like this kid was an experienced vet that has hit his prime. Its not an exact comparison but its not like they can't be compared at all. The signings of McJesus-Drai is definitely comparable to the Crosby-Malkin except that both McDavid and Drai are younger than Malkin and Crosby are. In 4 years when both McDavid and Drai are in there prime they will likely both be dominant.

The funny thing about Seabrook's contract is that he's playing better now than he was earlier in his career.

He was too slow and knocked the net off its moorings over 500 times to prevent a rebound goal on the breakaway he gave up. Blackhawks don't win a single cup if the NHL refs call that automatic penalty

Yeah this isn't accurate at all. I am not a Seabrook fan and have never been but this is just complete nonsense.