The Chicago Blackhawks know which side of the bread the butter’s on and are focused strongly on signing three of the club’s top stars. New contracts are all but signed for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, while defenceman Duncan Keith isn’t too far behind.

Keith’s agent and the Blackhawks organization are said to be working on a significant long-term contract extension that could see the defender signing anywhere between eight and 13 years.

TSN is saying that the deals for Toews and Kane clock in at about five years a piece.

The signings are expected to take place soon, with formal announcements on all of them to follow. The deals ensure that the Blackhawks remain a competitive and skilled hockey club, as the arrival of Toews and Kane certainly changed fortunes in Chicago. The team went from being a basement dwelling franchise to a serious contender for post-season glory.

“It’s nicer to get it (the contract signing) done all at the same time rather than one guy and then another and then maybe one has to wait even longer than that,” Kane told the Chicago Tribune.

With Kane just having turned 21 and charged with a new mission in life thanks to some trouble in the off-season and with Toews a valuable component to the success of the Blackhawks, it’s safe to say that Chicago hockey fans have a lot to look forward to over the next years.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Tags: chicago blackhawks, duncan keith, jonathan toews, patrick kane

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 11:50 pm and is filed under NHL, NHL Notes, Players. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.