So there's no drama for the Blackhawk with the leading-man looks.

The Chicago Blackhawks today agreed on a 5-year contract extension for the Very Handsome* Patrick Sharp, at a reported $5.9 million per year.

This is significant for two reasons - first of all, the only core player who would have approached free agent status next summer is now a done deal. Secondly, every core player on the Chicago Blackhawks is now locked up for at least two seasons. Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, right down the line. 9 forwards, 5 defensemen, 2 goalies. All locked up through the end of the 2012-13 season. So go ahead and get used to these guys.

Now I confess, when Dale Tallon signed Sharp to the contract that still has a year to run, I was skeptical. 4 years at $3.9 million per for a guy who the year before hit his career high with 20 goals and 35 points. He signed the extension mid-season, and finished the year with his current career high of 36 goals, and finished 4th in Selke voting. Turns out the guy was a bargain.

Gotta give props to Stan Bowman for getting this done quickly. Sharp enters training camp knowing where he will be setting hearts aflutter for the next 6 years, and there's no concern about a player of Sharp's caliber testing the free agent market.

Also, as I said earlier, this team can more or less work as a unit for at least the next 3 years. There's no concern about free agency until after the 2012-13 season, when the free agents will be...Marcus Kruger, Viktor Stalberg and Nick Leddy. This team is stacked up for multiple runs at another Stanley Cup.

Sorry Vancouver, it was nice while it lasted.

*Some might even say "breathtaking"