Free agent signings have been around in the NHL for a while, but they took on a new meaning in 2005 with the implementation of the salary cap.
Just four years later - on July 1, 2009 - the Blackhawks made perhaps their best free agent deal, signing an eventual Hall of Famer, Marian Hossa, to a 12-year, $63 million contract.
BLOG: Greatest free-agent signing in Blackhawks history
Looking back on the 10-year anniversary of Chicago signing Marian Hossa
