The Chicago Blackhawks were a dynasty in the first half of the 2010s as the team won the Stanley Cup three times in six seasons: 2010, 2013, and 2015. That wouldn’t have likely happened without every member of the core that were around for most of all of the victories.
That being said, Nick Hjalmarsson was almost deducted from that Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks team after the 2009-10 season, his first full season in the NHL.
Coming out of his entry-level contract, Hjalmarsson proved that he was already a top-4 defenseman, playing the fourth-most minutes among Chicago d-men that season. He had played 13 games and 21 games the two seasons prior with the Blackhawks, but was a full-time member and made an impact on the team that hoisted the Cup for the first time in a very long time.
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On July 9, 2010, the San Jose Sharks sent an offer sheet to Hjalmarsson in which he signed. The contract was for four years at $3.5 million AAV and was matched by the Blackhawks. This was a no-brainer, but was also a little bit much right out of the gates at that time. Players didn’t often sign decently big tickets right out of their entry-level deals 15 years ago like young players do these days and Chicago had a lot of money on the books right after free agency trying to keep the team at a high level.
That four-year contract extended through to the next Stanley Cup that the Blackhawks won three years later in 2013 where Hjalmarsson was now the number three defenseman behind Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. As far as the defense core goes, those three were the pillars on the back-end for the Blackhawks through their glory years.
Hjalmarsson very quickly grew into that $3.5 million AAV cap hit and in seven of the eight full seasons in Chicago, had a positive goals for percentage by being on the ice at 5-on-5 for more goals than goals against.
Not only did the offer sheet by the Sharks almost change how the Blackhawks future played out, it would’ve made a big difference in San Jose, one of Chicago’s rivals and another top team for many years in the Western Conference. There was definitely a little animosity towards the Blackhawks after they swept the Sharks in the Western Conference Final in 2010 on the way to Chicago’s Stanley Cup.
Hjalmarsson may not have been one of the biggest names on the Blackhawks through their great years, but he went about his business with great success and was a key piece to two more Stanley Cups after the Blackhawks decided to match the offer sheet and keep him.
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