Welcome back, all! Summer is rollin' right along, and these signings just keep happening. I wanted to start this week with of course Patrick Kane coming back to the Chicago Blackhawks…that was unless a superstar forward signed a massive ticket. Macklin Celebrini, hello.

Macklin Celebrini (20 years old, C/LW) signs a 5-year contract with the Sharks at an $18.8-Million AAV cap hit ($94-Million total)

Well, we had the highest-paid player in the league at $18 million for less than a month. Welcome to the new NHL.

You guys will love this: the manager in my league who currently rosters Leo Carlsson also has Macklin Celebrini. The response in our group chat this morning was, "Well, it's under 20," followed by a shrug emoji. As funny as that is, he might be onto something. Once the ink dried on Carlsson's $18 million AAV deal, it felt inevitable that Celebrini would come in at a higher number.

Hands. Shot. Vision. Passing. Every box is checked. There was very little missing from Celebrini's game at just 19 years old. Seriously, at 19, we're already talking about a top-four player in the NHL. That also likely makes him a top-four fantasy draft pick this season in non-keeper leagues.

I'm not sure there's much else that needs to be said here. Yes, that's a hefty cap hit in salary-cap formats, but I'll take a roster construction challenge over not having an elite forward on my team every day of the week. After posting 115 points last season, it's hard not to believe he can reach that mark again.

What makes that production even more impressive is the context. At times, Celebrini was working with a subpar supporting cast at even strength and lacked a true power-play quarterback. In fact, his 33 power-play points might be more impressive than his 45 goals, given what he had to work with on the man advantage.

For managers in more complex salary-cap leagues, it's worth noting that the majority of Celebrini's compensation comes through signing bonuses. You can structure deals like that when your franchise is owned by a little startup called SAP. The contract also includes a no-move clause in the final season (2031-32), which is the first year he becomes eligible to receive one.

Patrick Kane (37 years old, RW) signs a 2-year contract with the Blackhawks at an $8-Million AAV cap hit ($16-Million total)

Agent Pat Brisson (who also represents Celebrini and a player we'll get to in a moment) has been cooking this summer! Patrick Kane is headed back to the Blackhawks.

You know I have to weigh in on this one, but maybe not in the direction you’d expect. Let’s start with the fantasy outlook. Kane finished last season with 57 points in 67 games. Granted, he was playing on a Detroit team that dealt with some instability down the middle and, at times, a power play that struggled to gain traction. Even so, he closed the season strong, putting up 24 points in his final 20 games with seven multi-point performances during that stretch.

The concern now is two-fold: age and deployment. I think there’s a very real chance that 65 to 72 games is the range we get from Kane this season. I’m also not convinced a Blackhawks roster that still has questions about its two-way play is the ideal environment for him at this stage of his career. When Connor Bedard returns, imagine a top line of Nick Lardis – Connor Bedard – Patrick Kane. There would be plenty of offensive upside, but that’s also a line that, in all likelihood, is going to get ran out the rink in the wrong matchup.

I also wonder what things will look like in early March if Chicago is out of the playoff race and on the second half of a back-to-back in Alberta before returning home to face the Tampa Bay Lightning; how productive and is that top unit going to be? Those are fair questions to ask.

From a contract perspective, the $8 million cap hit feels like a slight overpay. That said, Chicago still has enough entry-level talent on the roster that it needs to spend money simply to stay above the salary floor. I do wonder whether the rumors of the Buffalo Sabres' interest were legitimate. If they were, Chicago may have had to bid higher than expected to bring Kane back. It is somewhat surprising to see Kane earning more annually at age 37 than he did during any of his three seasons in Detroit. Still, there is a fantasy silver lining. In deeper leagues where right-wing scoring is scarce, Kane remains a worthwhile target. If things break right, there’s a reasonable path to around 50 points, and potentially more if he clicks with Bedard and sees extended top power-play usage.

If I can put the analyst hat aside for a moment and be a fan for a moment…plenty of my friends still have their No. 88 Winter Classic jerseys hanging in the closet, ready to make a comeback. I get the nostalgia and good feels, but I keep thinking about something Kyle Davidson said on Every Shift (a behind-the-scenes Blackhawks documentary for those unfamiliar). When the organization decided to move on from Jonathan Toews and trade Kane, the message was clear: the Blackhawks needed to head in a new direction.

And yet, here we are.

It’s not that I don’t think this reunion will be fun – at times, it absolutely will be. But eventually, organizations have to move forward. I was lucky enough to attend two Stanley Cup parades, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Those teams and those moments will always matter. Still, every new era has to stand on its own. Remember: you can’t sail today on yesterday’s winds.

Jet Greaves (25 years old, G) signs a 3-year contract with the Blue Jackets at a $5-Million AAV cap hit ($15-Million total)

It must be Pat Brisson Day here on Capped, as another one of his clients has signed a new deal, and one that came in at a slightly lower AAV than I would have expected.

Say what you will, but Greaves was good last season, even if the win-loss record doesn’t fully reflect it. Among goaltenders, Greaves finished sixth in Goals Saved Above Average (per Frozen Tools), ninth in Goals Saved Above Expected (per MoneyPuck), and posted an impressive .858 high-danger save percentage at five-on-five. He was also typically one of the more affordable options in DFS contests, which is always something we love to see.

From a salary-cap league perspective, landing a contract comparable to those of Joey Daccord or Dan Vladar is solid work and looks good on the club’s balance sheet. The issue, however, is a significant one: Rick Bowness is behind the bench, and Elvis Merzlikins is still on the roster.

I never understood Greaves’ deployment last season. He would get a run of starts, play well, and then find himself glued to the bench for an extended stretch. It never made much sense to me. You guys know how much I dislike the constant uncertainty surrounding goalie starts, and that unpredictability makes Greaves a difficult player to roster at times.

Still, the upside is obvious. If Greaves can push his workload closer to 60 starts rather than 55, he has the talent to be a major contributor in fantasy leagues this season. The advanced metrics suggest there’s more here than just a promising backup, and if Columbus finally commits to him as its clear No. 1, fantasy managers could end up with one of the better values at the position.

*Salary Cap data from PuckPedia.com  

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