Almost a week has passed, the confetti has been swept up from Michigan and Wacker, the overpriced Stanley Cup merchandise has spread across the Greater Chicagoland Area.

At this point, it's time to come to grips that making the Stanley Cup finals means that you pay for your success by having a shorter offseason than anyone else. The Blues, for instance, have had two months to contemplate the fact that they went backward last season, and have been passed by several franchises.

One good thing about the Chicago Blackhawks is, since they are the best team in hockey, there aren't many questions, and everyone pretty much has the same ones. We'll attempt to answer them here:

Will the bonuses to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane hurt the Hawks in regard to the salary cap in the upcoming season?

The Hawks knew last summer that they could carry bonuses over into this season's cap, and used that to their advantage. Because the 2010-11 season wasn't one where the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) could be terminated, that meant bonuses could be rolled over. The announced bonuses paid out by the Hawks totaled $5 million for the 2009-10 season. How much of it rolls over hasn't been released yet, nor has the Cap figure for the upcoming season. Whatever dent this puts into what the Hawks are able to pay out in salary for the upcoming season is the price they paid for being able to put a picture of the Stanley Cup on the media guide. Before anyone complains, be happy it's just money, and not the left nut that we all said we'd give for a Cup.

What are the Hawks going to do with Cristobal Huet?

There are really four options available. Let's take them from least to most desirable:

1. Keep him. Even if he wasn't damaged goods at this point, a $5.65 cap hit is insane to pay for a backup. Not going to happen.
2. Buy him out. Based upon his age, contract amount and years remaining, this would take a cap hit of $1.875 million for the next four years and throw it out the window.
3. Trade him. There are teams out there that are significantly under not only the salary cap, but also under the salary floor. Someone would be willing to take a veteran goaltender in dire need of a change of scenery. This scenario would also mean the Blackhawks parting with other players and/or considerations (i.e. draft picks), or the Hawks taking a shitty contract in return, which helps matters not one bit. There's no such thing as something for nothing...
4. Waive him...or is there? Waiving Huet, with the understanding he can go play in Europe is the same arrangement the Hawks were working out with Nikolai Khabibulin before the 2008-09 season, before the Hawks needed him to come up and play. The Hawks could do the paperwork of sending Huet's contract to Rockford, and Huet could go play in Switzerland or wherever he wants, and make some extra dough in the process. If there's a team in the NHL that can afford to just eat almost $12 million over the next two years, it's the Chicago Blackhawks.

What about the Hawks' free agents?

The Hawks have some Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) and Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) they'd like to have back, and some they have probably already told to put their houses on the market. Fortunately with the RFAs, the Hawks have the advantage of getting offer sheets out (they WILL get out this year), which means that teams that sign the Hawks' RFAs will have to cough up some form of compensation, based upon what they pay.

There are two RFAs that are not optional - Antti Niemi and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Both are due pretty hefty raises, as Niemi's cap hit for the 2009-10 season was $826 thousand, and Hjalmarsson's was $643 thousand. Figure another couple million for Hjammer and another 3 or 4 million for Niemi. The next group of RFAs are Andrew Ladd ($1.6MM), Ben Eager ($1MM), Jack Skille ($1.3MM), Colin Fraser ($700K), Brian Bickell ($500K) and Jordan Hendry ($600K). Ladd is the closest of these five to indispensible. Hopefully the Hawks can lock him up for 3 years at somewhere in the low 2s. Bickell and Skille represent two players on different career trajectories. I'd be very surprised if Bickell doesn't sign a one-way contract for around $750K and we'll see him log 4th line minutes next season. There isn't a spot on the Blackhawks for Jack Skille. I've been saying all season that I see Fraser moving on to Calgary, where he can play for his in-laws. Hendry is a #6 defenseman, and will be paid accordingly, around $750K. Eager will want a raise, but for less money you can have a younger version with more upside. Kyle Beach ($1.2MM), it's your time, kid.

How about the Hawks' UFAs? Kim Johnsson was acquired in order to free cap space ($4.8MM) at season's end, while Cam Barker's remaining two years in Minnesota will see him getting time on ice more commensurate with his contract. If he's still alive, the gurney gets rolled out of the Blackhawks' infirmary. John Madden signed for one year at $2.8MM, for which he was to bring in his Stanley Cup experience. He is now among an entire team with that experience, so paying that kind of money for a 4th line center is no longer a priority for this team. If he were to stay in Chicago, he would have to take a pretty hefty pay cut, which he didn't merit. I see him casting his lot with another young team (Phoenix? Montreal? Los Angeles? Nashville?) that could use the guidance he provided to the Hawks. Nick Boynton made $1.5MM this year. The Hawks can't afford that amount of money for what he brings. The other UFA on the roster is one Adam Burish. Interesting case here. He made $700K this season, and between his injury and role assignment and performance, didn't see many games on the ice. In fact, he sat out the Cup winner - making his threat to hit Chris Pronger pretty sad. He is an energy player, and if the Hawks can sign him for under a million, not a bad deal. He loves playing here, and I'm not sure he's going to get many offers. Like Madden, if he goes, he goes with thanks and well wishes.

Who will fill the spots being vacated?

The Hawks are in a good place, as you can imagine a Stanley Cup winner would be. They're a young team with the nucleus (Duncan Keith - 13 years, Marian Hossa - 11 years, Brian Campbell - 6 years, Toews/Kane - 5 years, Dave Bolland - 4 years) signed for a while. At some point this season, you can expect Brent Seabrook to get offered something similar. But there really aren't many vacant spots. If Bickell signs, add in Kyle Beach and Jake Dowell and you've got 12 forwards. Sign Hendry and you've got 6 defensemen. Move Huet, and you've got Corey Crawford as a worst-case scenario. I'm guessing the Hawks look for a veteran. So the roster is pretty much set, and defensemen like Brian Connelly and Shawn Lalonde will get more time to learn their trade at Rockford, knowing they're a phone call away.

Will there be any trades?

I'm certain that Stan Bowman has 29 new best friends, as every GM in the league knows he will be looking to shed salary. There are names that will get the phone slammed (Toews, Kane and Keith all have no-movement clauses,and Campbell has a no-trade where he can name 8 teams, so those are all no-go), and there are certain others who Bowman probably won't discuss (Sharp and Seabrook, along with RFAs Niemi and Hjalmarsson). The four that will probably get some inquiries that Stan will actually listen to are Kris Versteeg, Dave Bolland, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel. Sopel is overpaid ($2.3MM) for being a 3rd pair defenseman, but he's also a vital cog in an exceptional penalty kill. Byfuglien went from being a regular-season enigma to being a household name during the Stanley Cup run. Either of these guys would have to be responsible for some unbelievable come-back for Bowman to part with either of them. Versteeg and Bolland? Stan is listening. Sharp's emergence as a second-line center pushed Bolland down to third line duty. He is actually a decent third line center, but $3.375MM/per for four more years is a pretty hefty sum for that job. They can absorb it for another year, only because they get one more bargain ($1MM) year of Troy Brouwer before he reaches RFA status. Versteeg is the most expendable of the Hawks' signed forwards. He's a Cup-winning, 20 goal scorer, so there will certainly be teams interested in acquiring his services. If the Hawks move him, that would actually give the Hawks some breathing room under the Cap.

So that's my two cents on the offseason of the Chicago Blackhawks. Now I get to sit back and see how wrong I am.