Blackhawks lock up Seabrook for 8 years, $55 million

Showing how much they value defensive hockey and team continuity, the Blackhawks rewarded Brent Seabrook with a blockbuster eight-year, $55 million contract extension Saturday, locking up the veteran until the 2023-24 season.

The contract will count $6.875 million against the salary cap beginning next season. Seabrook will make $5.8 million this season.

The signing virtually ensures that the 30-year-old defenseman will remain a Hawk for life.

"I'm excited to be a Blackhawk," said Seabrook, who didn't feel it was necessary to test the free-agent market next off-season. "That's where I wanted to be the whole time. I didn't want to push it or wait. … I'm proud to be a Blackhawk.

"I'd like to spend my whole career here. It's up to me now to fulfill my end of the bargain and go from there."

Seabrook said getting the contract done before the regular season begins on Oct. 7 is "a huge relief."

He was just named an alternate captain before training camp by coach Joel Quenneville, who said the 6-foot-3 native of Richmond, British Columbia, has always been one of the team's vocal leaders.

"I've always tried to talk," Seabrook said, "and I don't know if it gets annoying to some guys - you'd have to ask them - but it sort of gets me going, gets me revved up and gets me prepared to play. …

"Eighty-two games is a long grind. Sometimes you need a little pep up and things like that. I've always tried to be loud and vocal."

In addition to being a solid defender, Seabrook possesses a wicked slapshot. He already holds the franchise record for most postseason goals (19) and overtime goals (3) by a Hawks defenseman.

"The thing you notice about Brent is that he seems to raise his game in the most important games," said GM Stan Bowman. "He's scored some huge goals for us. … When those critical moments come in a game or a series, Brent's a guy who can step up and get things done."

The signing means that - next season and assuming none of them are traded - Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Trevor Daley and goalie Corey Crawford - will count for approximately $24.8 million against the cap. Throw in Patrick Kane ($10.5M), Jonathan Toews ($10.5M), Marian Hossa ($5.275M), Artem Anisimov ($4.55M) and Bryan Bickell ($4.0M) and the Hawks would already be at over $60 million with just those 10 players.

That doesn't bother Bowman a bit.

"You can't just go pick up a Brent Seabrook," Bowman said. "Every team faces those (salary cap) challenges, but I look at it as a great situation to be in. The hardest thing is to find talented players that are committed to winning.

"When you have them, you do everything you can and you make it work."

And down the line, who knows? This contract - much like Duncan Keith's does now - may look like a steal.

"There are players who make almost twice as much as him ($5.538M average)," Bowman said of Keith. "I think he's the best defenseman in the league. That (contract being a bargain) may already be the case with Keith, for sure. …

"I do think that in time, when you have guys locked up at the 2015 standard (salary), when the cap goes up then they start to look like bargains."

Seabrook and Keith have been paired together for much of their careers, something both are thrilled they'll be able to do for many more years to come.

"He's been an unbelievable teammate and great guy, great friend," Keith said. "Happy to be able to know that we're going to be playing together for a long time."

Said Seabrook: "We've had a lot of great years together, we've got a lot of great memories together. We're great friends; see each other in the summer - live close to each other in the summer. It's exciting to think about that.

"But … it's up to us to hold up our end. I'm going to continue to do my job and play hard for this team."