Carolina’s Trending New Cap Circumvention Technique Could Allow Blackhawks To Afford Connor Bedard’s Next Deal

The Hurricanes made headlines Saturday when they signed star forward Seth Jarvis to an eight-year, $63.2 million contract. The deal isn’t anything too notable on its own – it’s a reasonable AAV at $7.9 million for a great superstar.

However, when taking a closer look at the contract, you’ll notice Carolina will only eat a $7.42 million cap hit. That’s because Jarvis’s contract includes $29.24 million in signing bonuses, a number that includes deferred dollars that lower his current cap hit. The team and player haven’t divulged the precise amount that was deferred, but there is a scheduled payment for July 1, 2032, one day after his contract officially expires.

Upon hearing about the deal, two questions quickly popped up – why hasn’t every team been doing this, and what does it mean for the Blackhawks?

Why don’t more teams defer contract dollars?

Frank Seravalli reported along with the deal that the NHL’s Central Registry and the NHL Players’ Association were briefed and signed off on the structure of this deal before terms were agreed upon. Deferred payments have been allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement in the past, but up to this point, no team has significantly crossed the threshold in doing so. It’s somewhat puzzling how the rules prohibiting cap circumvention don’t come into play in these situations, but obviously the league was okay with it.

The reason most teams don’t typically use it is that it only applies to a bonus paid at the end of an eight-year deal, which is technically the ninth year, which doesn’t exist under CBA regulations. To get a player to agree to those terms would require a decent bit of persuasion, meaning a team would likely have to overpay them overall. Finally, it turns a hard-to-move contract into one that’s downright impossible. An acquiring team isn’t going to be willing to take on a back-heavy contract with a huge bonus due at the end no matter how many assets you package the player with.

Can the Blackhawks take advantage with Connor Bedard’s new deal?

It’s officially time for Blackhawks fans to keep an eye on trends with these new contracts, as Connor Bedard’s second contract can be negotiated as early as July 1, 2025. Even though Connor McDavid will likely set the market at the same time, there’s no question Bedard’s deal will be one of the highest AAVs ever given out by Chicago. As the Blackhawks continue to fill their NHL lineup with players earning higher amounts, they could face a cap crunch after extending Bedard.

When the time comes, both parties could be intrigued by a similar deal that pushes a portion of Bedard’s cap hit to the end of his contract. I wouldn’t be surprised if the accountants in the Blackhawks’ front office were taking a closer look at Jarvis’s contract at this very moment to see if they can do the same. Chicago has had its fair share of cap troubles this century already, and anything to alleviate some of that pressure while paying Bedard what he demands would certainly be welcome for GM Kyle Davidson.