Keith's value rising on, off ice

With every day that passes, and with every game he plays, the price for signing Duncan Keith to a contract extension heads skyward.

If the Blackhawks weren't already certain Keith was their best defenseman, they figured it out while he sat for two weeks.

They've won three of four since his return from a concussion, after losing three of four while he was out. The void was demonstrable, and it would be fair to wonder now if Keith might be the club's best all-around player, period.

Many will take exception, naturally, since Keith's not at the forefront of the Hawks' marketing plan, but there are plenty who matter on West Madison who believe Keith is the player the Hawks can least afford to lose.

His transition game is remarkable, and the pressure he takes off the rest of the club was easily measured when he was out of the lineup, especially since he and partner Brent Seabrook often match up with the other club's top line.

And while you'd never confuse Brian Campbell with someone interested in playing defense, Keith creates offense, too, but not at the expense of puck protection.

Campbell at $7.1 million a year has a few more points than Keith (35 to 29), but Keith - at only $1.6 million this year and $1.9 million next year - leads the team with a plus-26 (fourth in the NHL), to Campbell's plus-7.

GM Dale Tallon has shown he isn't afraid to move early on contracts. Last January/February he signed Patrick Sharp (four years, $15.6 million), Brent Sopel (three years, $7 million) and Seabrook (three years, $10.5 million).

True, Keith's deal isn't up until the end of next season, so the Hawks have some time, but the risk is that the price will rise.

After all, if Seabrook got $3.5 million and Campbell $7.1 million, Keith has every right to want $5 million a year, and as a restricted free agent he might even get a $6 million-a-year offer in the summer of 2010.

Complicating matters, Matt Walker is unrestricted this summer, and you can tell that head coach Joel Quenneville really likes Walker's physical play and steady hand, so you'd have to think the coach wants to see that get done.

James Wisniewski and Cam Barker are both restricted, as is forward Kris Versteeg, who's having a big rookie year.

That doesn't even take into account the monster contract extensions coming for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

So maybe the Hawks need to reach out to Keith this summer, sign him for less, and save for the future.

The only thing that's certain is the longer they wait the more expensive he'll be.

Tip of the cap

Let's say Kane and Toews get about $8 million each starting in 2010-11, and that Keith gets $5.5 million.

With Cristobal Huet at $5.6 million, add in Sharp, Campbell and Seabrook, and that's $41.8 million invested in three forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, with a cap that may not move much from the current $57 million in the next two years.

In other words, 73 percent of the cap would be invested in 32 percent of the roster, with about a million bucks per player left over for the other 15.

That doesn't even include Dustin Byfuglien, Sopel, Barker, Walker, Wisniewski and Versteeg, some of whom won't be here in two years.

The Hawks are up against the cap already, an unusual position for such a young team, and perhaps they regret rushing into some recent contracts, most notably for Byfuglien and Sopel.

In any case, it's now about asset management, and while some fans don't like hearing the reality, it's why the Hawks need to move the veterans they don't intend to re-sign.

Yes, Nikolai Khabibulin might win them a playoff round this year and then leave as a free agent, but before the trade deadline he might instead bring in return the next youngster or two who contribute a lot without making a lot.

Two years from now, if the Hawks have more than two-thirds of their cap space invested in less than one third of their roster, they're going to need those valuable - and cheap - assets.

Chief concern

Tight end Tony Gonzalez wants out of Kansas City as the Chiefs search for a new coach, saying, "Yeah, I hear they're talking to (Cardinals offensive coordinator) Todd Haley, but then there's this coach (Kirk Ferentz) from Iowa State, some (bleep) like that, and I don't want to deal with that.''

If you're Ferentz, and you're from Iowa, by the way, why would you want to step in that stuff?

I was thinking that Ferentz would be better off playing in traffic without a car, when he told Iowa reporters Wednesday night, "Unless I get hit by a truck, I'll see you (for the first practice) on March 25.''

Bearing down

From e-mailer The Last Bear Fan: "After watching the playoffs, it occurs to me that the Bears never look like they're having much fun out there. Come to think of it, they didn't look like they were having much fun during their Super Bowl run in 2006. Isn't that a direct reflection of the coach?''

Bong recreation area

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "Michael Phelps apologized for pictures in a British tabloid that showed him smoking pot. And here we thought those eyes were red from the chlorine.''

Best headline

Sportspickle.com: "Citigroup says it can still help pay for new Mets stadium, as long as it's as poorly constructed as the last one.''

And finally -

S.F. Chronicle's Scott Ostler: "Santonio Holmes confesses that for one year of his youth in South Florida he sold drugs on a street corner. When I was 12, I sold newspapers on a street corner. Hey, we all make mistakes.''

brozner@dailyherald.com