Chicago Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will be having added pressure as their lucrative extension deals will kick in next season.
Kane and Toews agreed to eight-year, $84 million contract extensions last summer that will take effect this 2015-16 season. Previously, both had a five-year, $31.5 million contract with Chicago.
"I understand that. The two of us have worked hard to own up to that, and I think the pressure will be on us maybe more than it has in past years because of that fact," Toews stated in a Blackhawks convention Friday.
The 27-year-old ice hockey player added, "I think we've been up for challenges like that before, and we're ready for this one, too."
Toews played in 81 regular season games last season and scored 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists).
In their Stanley Cup-winning playoff run, Toews played in 23 games scoring 10 goals and having 11 assists.
Kane also thinks he needs to step up and be ready for next season to live up to his contract.
"You want to make sure, especially with a short summer, you're coming back in shape and ready as possible, ready as anyone else in the league because you know you're going to have that expectation and that accountability to step up, that you live up to that contract," Kane stated.
He added that it is not really something they think about but it helps them motivate to work harder during the summer.
The 26-year-old athlete had 27 goals and 37 assists in just 64 regular season games and had 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) during the playoffs.
According to ESPN, Toews and Kane will earn a combined $21 million ($10.5 million each) for the 2015-16 season that will take up 29.4 percent of the Blackhawks' $71.4 million cap space.
The defending Stanley Cup champions have made a number of roster moves this offseason including the release of a number of key players to address issues with their cap space.
