Blackhawks flex monetary muscle on opening day of free agency

While Dale Tallon was insisting his team had accomplished everything it wanted at the start of free agency, he also admitted to still feeling a twinge of regret.

"I wish I was still a player," the Chicago Blackhawks general manager lamented not long after landing one of the day's marquee names in defenseman Brian Campbell.

Cristobal Huet gets a four-year, $22.5 million deal from the Chicago Blackhawks. (Getty Images)

Tallon was joking, of course, although he couldn't be really blamed for envying those who are hitting the open market 28 years after he ended his own 10-season career. This is the fourth free-agent period since the league shut down for a full season to get a handle on its costs, and on the opening day there were nearly $400 million in contracts handed out to 43 players.

None of those deals, by the way, involved the new market's biggest prizes, Marian Hossa and Mats Sundin. But the money and the terms being given were in many cases once worthy of only elite players and still stunning now, even if the demand for talent exceeded supply.

"Yes" said Tallon, when asked if he was surprised by the money that was spent. "July 1 you always overpay, and then it trickles to August when you get bargains."

The Blackhawks didn't get any bargains with their signings. In fact they arguably went over market value by giving Campbell the richest contract of the day at $56 million over eight years, and getting goaltender Cristobal Huet to accept a four-year, $22.5 million deal.

Campbell is a high-end puck mover who logs a lot of minutes and he will be a boost to what is already a good young Chicago defense. But there was a feeling around the league that anything over $6.5 million per season was too much for Campbell.

Huet, meanwhile, vaulted into the pay scale of top-tier goaltenders, despite the fact he has yet to distinguish himself in postseason play and Chicago still has goalie Nikolai Khabibulin for one more year at $6.75 million.

But Tallon said the dollars don't always have to make sense to those on the outside.

Sometimes that's because a team feels it has to react to a move by a rival, and sometimes teams feel they can't afford to miss out on a player they covet. Though in Chicago's case, it is mainly because the Original Six team has gone through a fundamental change in direction since Rocky Wirtz took over as owner from his father, William, who died last September.

The younger Wirtz brought in former Cubs executive John McDonough to head the marketing effort, got the team back on local television for the first time in two decades and welcomed back into the family previously disowned legends like Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. Plus, it didn't hurt to have dynamic rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews lead an exciting young team that got back on the local sports radar despite falling just short of the playoffs.

All of it helped the franchise reconnect with its deep roots and fan base. If keeping that momentum going means spending more this summer, the team was willing to do it, Tallon said.

"The thing is now we have the resources to do it," said Tallon, who added the team is now done making major moves this summer. "We created a buzz in this market. We started to sell more and more ticket sponsorships and we want to continue, so you're going to overpay. But we wanted to make a statement."