The Chicago Blackhawks have two RFAs that they have to sign before the start of the 2026-27 season if they plan on having them around. Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski, both defensemen, are the two in question.
Both of them are going to have a hard time cracking the opening night lineup for the Blackhawks, but they would both need to clear waivers to make it down to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. Arbitration is not an option for either of them as the two sides try to come to an agreement.
2 Chicago Blackhawks RFAs Still Need Contracts For 2026-27
2 Chicago Blackhawks RFAs Still Need Contracts For 2026-27The Chicago Blackhawks still have two players who need contracts ahead of the 2026-27 season.
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The Blackhawks entered the off-season with 4 RFAs. The other two, Connor Bedard and Drew Commesso, were able to get their deals signed. They have a clear role within the organization, which made them much easier to get done.
As for Korchinski and Del Mastro, the same cannot be said. These are the 3 biggest reasons that these deals are not yet complete:
1. Hard To Place Financial Value
What type of money do you pay players like Kevin Korchinski or Ethan Del Mastro? They are likely to get two-way deals that will have a set NHL salary and a set AHL salary.
The Blackhawks gave Wyatt Kaiser a two-year deal with an NHL average annual value of $1.7 million ahead of last season. It is hard to justify giving Korchinski or Del Mastro any more than Kaiser, who has shown a higher likelihood of being an everyday NHL player.
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From the players’ perspective, it would be wise to take a deal at a million per year or just under, then go out and prove why their next contract should be much more lucrative.
2. Role In The Organization
The Blackhawks traded Louis Crevier away, but they brought in Bowen Byram in return. In addition, they added veteran Ian Cole, who is on a two-year streak of playing in all 82 games. With Wyatt Kaiser, Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, and Artyom Levshunov all in the mix as well, the room for Korchinski or Del Mastro to play every day isn’t there.
Injuries will occur, and both of these guys will get a chance if they are on the roster, but their role right now is depth defenseman who may need to spend time in the AHL. Not being waiver-exempt makes things even tougher, because sending them to Rockford could be the fast track to a new team.
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Young defensemen have passed each of these two guys by, and it is going to be difficult to catch up with their likely lack of NHL playing time. A situation like this makes it extremely hard to negotiate a fair contract.
3. There Is No Rush From An Organizational Standpoint
The Chicago Blackhawks have no reason to rush these negotiations with either player. It could help them to have as much defensive depth as possible within the organization, but they are no longer relying on either of them to be everyday players, which gives them all of the leverage.
As far as the Blackhawks are concerned, they could wait until camp or later to get it resolved. The players won’t want that because they need camp and the preseason to prove themselves, but it isn’t a main priority for the Blackhawks at this time.
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