Without question, the most sought-after defenseman on the free agent market this summer was Brian Campbell, and he cashed in big time on Tuesday. An offensive defenseman with a mean streak, Campbell inked a lucrative eight-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $7.1 million a season.

The 29-year-old Campbell was among the league leaders in scoring by defensemen in 2007-08, with 62 points in 83 games (split between the Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks). The Sharks acquired Campbell in a trade deadline deal, parting with Steve Bernier and a first-round pick in the 2008 draft for what turned out to be a very short-term rental.

Campbell is a very capable puck-moving defenseman, and should fit in nicely on a Blackhawks power play that also features Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Martin Havlat. But Campbell's signing (along with the inking of netminder Cristobal Huet to a deal) does evoke bad memories.

Back in 2005, the 'Hawks were similarly aggressive, landing Adrian Aucoin and Nikolai Khabibulin to big-dollar deals that were a country mile away from working out. The NHL's history with unrestricted free agency is littered with similar storylines (see: the late 1990s and early 2000s New York Rangers), but there is good cause for hope that things will work out better for Chicago this time around.

The difference this time is the existing talent, of course, and with the team unequivocally built around Toews and Kane, there should be far less pressure on Campbell/Huet than there was on Aucoin/Khabibulin. Campbell and Huet will fill roles on a team rather than being expected to turn things around on their own, and Campbell's skating ability (far superior to Aucoin's) makes him a much better fit in the post-lockout NHL.

Similarly, Huet has been one of the NHL's best goalies over the past few seasons, and should excel on this talented 'Hawks team. There remain some question marks, of course, but it seems apparent that GM Dave Tallon has this team moving in the right direction.