Breaking: Surprise Announcement By Blackhawks and Nick Foligno

He has shown his dedication to the cause all season since coming aboard this past summer on a one-year free agent deal, and now Nick Foligno is taking that another step further, agreeing to a two-year extension with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nick Foligno is the next guest on the podcast and he has some exciting news for us! 👀

Check it out here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cxsPaG9uzh

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 12, 2024

The 36-year-old appeared on Blackhawks Insider today and confirmed the thought process behind his two-year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit:

I know the age I’m at but I still feel like I have a lot to give and that commitment…(allows) me to really see this through. I think that was the conversation: we’re still growing we’re still trying to get to a place where we wanna be respected by all and so (this deal) gives that little buffer to really see this (through).

Foligno added that watching the young, rising stars on the team has given them that added juice to stick around: 

(To) watch a young player like Connor (Bedard) grow, and Lucas Reichel grow, an Vlasic grow, and help push this in the direction where we’re a tough team to play every every night. I’m really excited about pushing that with a lot of guys in this room.

Foligno proved without a doubt what he means to this team, and what this team means to him, when he immediately came to the defence of Bedard last week, after a huge collision with Brendan Smith left the rookie sensation with a fractured jaw. Foligno dropped the gloves and even wound up with a broken finger for his efforts, which has currently got him on injured reserve.

The 17-year veteran has also been showing his worth on the score sheet with eight goals and 17 points and 39 games thus far, while averaging 17:32 of ice time—his highest total in three years.

In 1,120 career games, Foligno has 223 goals, 319 assists and 542 points.

Photo: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports