Chicago Blackhawks sign Jason Dickinson to two-year extension with $4.25 million AAV

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed center Jason Dickinson to a two-year contract extension with a $4.25 million cap hit.

Dickinson, 28, was in the final year of a three-year contract with a $2.65 million cap hit, and was set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. His new contract will come in at a cap hit percentage of 5.09% with no confirmed clauses or bonuses, and will be the highest average annual value of his career thus far.

Dickinson’s closest cap hit comparable next season will be teammate Andreas Athanasiou, who is currently in the first year of an identical two-year deal with a $4.25 million cap hit.

The Georgetown, Ontario product is having a career year, with 14 goals and 7 assists for 21 points in 43 games this season. It’s the first time Dickinson has hit double digits in goals in a season, and his current 40-point pace in an 82-game season will easily surpass his previous career-high of 30 points achieved in 2022-23.

While Dickinson is having a career year offensively, he’s also been a reliable defensive forward throughout his career. Since he got a consistent role in the NHL in 2018-19, he’s 14th in defensive goals above replacement per 60 minutes with 0.159 among forwards with at least 5000 minutes of ice time, according to Evolving Wild.

Dickinson was a former 29th-overall selection by the Dallas Stars in the 2013 NHL Draft, and he spent seven seasons in the Stars organization before his restricted free agent signing rights were dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in 2021. After one season there, he was dealt to the Blackhawks in a cap dump, where he’s since spent the past two seasons.

Dickinson is the Blackhawks’ second extension signed in the past week, with the team also locking up winger Nick Foligno on a two-year contract with a $4.5 million cap hit. They still have a plethora of pending free agents to deal with, including nine UFA and nine RFA contracts currently on their NHL roster, and will have nearly $43.5 million in cap space to work with, according to Cap Friendly.