Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said Tuesday his priority for the offseason is signing Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to contract extensions. Kane and Toews are set to become unrestricted free agents after the 2014-15 season. Bowman can begin negotiations with them on July 1. "It's the highest priority for us looking at next year," Bowman said. "There's no doubt that's what we're going to do. I've made it clear. We've never wavered from that. There's no doubting the importance of those two players. "At the beginning, I sort of talked about the franchise in general and the direction we've taken, and it's really been tandem with those two players. When Patrick and Jonathan came onto the scene, it really sort of breathed life into the franchise and into our team. I think there was excitement. Certainly the success of the team has helped reach the level that it's at now. They've played a huge part in this." Read more http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/stor...athan-toews-extensions-top-offseason-priority
