Chicago Blackhawks re-sign superstar forward Patrick Sharp for 5 years –NHL offseason Update
A player that nearly every team in the National Hockey League (NHL) had their eyes on during the offseason was Patrick Sharp. Well, those teams that could afford him, that is. Chicago Blackhawks disappointed a large crowd of Sharp hungry general managers
as they extended his contract for another five years by signing him on Wednesday, August 3.
Chicago Blackhawks vice president and general manager, Stan Bowman, was the man to get the deal done and make a long needed announcement, not only to declare the news, but to let everyone know that he was off the market.
"No, honestly, it never went anywhere from there", Bowman said about never even considering a trade. "You can ask the other GMs. They would always ask about him and I would just say, 'No, we're not trading him,' and then move on to somebody else. It never
went past that first question from them".
Patrick Sharp, a 29-year-old All-Star centre player from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was also rumoured to have been in a speculative trade with the new Winnipeg Jets franchise, since that was his hometown after all, and they could use a player with his calibre.
Bowman cleared the dust and termed all rumours to be exactly that, rumours.
"There are too many factors outside of just what we see from his play on the ice", Bowman said about Sharp. "There's a lot of other things that (reporters and fans) don't see. He's a very important player for our group here and for that reason he's going
to be here for a long time".
It is believed that due to financial negotiations, the deal was put-off up until now. The new contract which begins following the next season, when Sharp was to become a free agent, is worth an estimated $5.9 million a year, which is nearly $2 million more
than he made last season.
Carrying a no-movement clause in his new deal with Chicago, Patrick Sharp has given himself to his team permanently for the next five years. Constant improvement, proved by his career high stats last year (71 points in 74 games), prove that Chicago will
ultimately benefit from one of the greatest players in the league today.
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