Chicago Blackhawks: 3 storylines to watch this season

Had Alec Martinez's point shot dodged Nick Leddy in Game 7 of the Western Conference final last spring, priming the 2014-15 season could have easily been just this simple: 

Can anything stop the dynastic Chicago Blackhawks?

But now here we are. Just 16 months after Chicago celebrated another Stanley Cup, the team's dominance in post-lockout era has been dwarfed by the Los Angeles Kings. Oh how quickly the sheen wears off. 

Here are three storylines to watch as the Blackhawks look to get their gloss back.

Mortgaging the franchise

The $84-million extensions signed by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane won't bludgeon the Blackhawks' payroll today, but the cost to employ the two superstars for the eight seasons that follow will have an immediate influence.

With Toews and Kane at just $12.6 million combined, the Blackhawks sit $2 million above the hard cap six days before puck drop. Stan Bowman and Co. have toed this salary line rather prosperously before, but they've never entered a season with a vat of added money prepared to greet them on the other side.

Making matters more difficult, emerging top-six winger Brandon Saad will have his economical entry-level contract expire at season's end along with half of their projected blue line.

Should the current make-up prove inadequate, the typically circumspect Hawks will have to be bolder and more creative than they've ever been to improve the roster surrounding the two $84 million men.

Striking it Rich-ards

For contenders in the Western Conference, the summer months were simple: match the Kings through center.

Over the payroll limit and with the compounding deals that loom, Chicago couldn't afford to enter the Ryan Kesler sweepstakes at the draft. Hell, David Legwand proved to be too rich for their blood. 

To that, the Blackhawks are hoping that a discounted addition in former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards can help bridge the gap for youngster Teuvo Teravainen and fortify the team's center-ice position. 

Richards, whose diminishing returns landed him on the fourth line before his buyout from the New York Rangers this summer, will step into the second-line role the Blackhawks failed to fill last season on a modest $2 million salary.

He should have enough offensive talent left in his toolbox to facilitate Kane and Saad, but how Richards reacts to the venom of the Western Conference will be key as Chicago takes aim at the Kings. 

Sharp turn

Most teams would be able to find a proper home for a 32-year-old Olympian whose reached the 30-goal plateau on four occasions. But most teams aren't the Blackhawks - and that's not necessarily applause.

Head coach Joel Quenneville has a penchant for the shuffle. He's constantly tinkering with his group in an effort to extract the best from his forward lines. But toward the end of last season, the Blackhawks' surplus of capable top-six wingers meant Patrick Sharp would skate on the team's third line.

With just one established top-six centerman on the roster heading into the offseason, Sharp - and the $5.9 million salary he'll earn for the next three seasons - appeared to be the perfect candidate to help a facilitate the ever-elusive "hockey trade." 

Obviously, that didn't happen and general manager Stan Bowman vows that it won't. But whether it's salary that needs to be shed for this week, or the extra capital that needs to come off the books next summer, it must go. And  Sharp's value is only declining.