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Blackhawks looking to add reinforcements this summer for Bedard

Long gone are the glory days of the Chicago Blackhawks that they experienced from 2009 through 2015, as they advanced to the Western Conference Final four times in that span and also won the Stanley Cup three times.

It was a true era of dominance that was marked by franchise icons like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, and multiple others. However, there is a new wave of talent that has been leading the way in Chicago, albeit slowly and surely. Former first overall draft selection Connor Bedard, taken with the first pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, is now the face of the franchise.

Additionally, there are multiple other talents that the Blackhawks hope will soon begin largely making an impact at the NHL level.

Meanwhile, Bedard has completed his three-year entry level contract and is in need of a hefty contract extension. But based on the latest report from NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, it doesn’t appear as though Bedard’s camp is any closer to a contract agreement with GM Kyle Davidson.

The Latest Update From Frank Seravalli On A Chicago Blackhawks Contract Extension For Connor Bedard Isn’t Good

While joining Pat Boyle and Charlie Roumeliotis on CHSN’s Breakaway Podcast, NHL Insider Frank Seravalli reported that the Blackhawks and Bedard haven’t even begun negotiating with one another yet.

“Let me say this,” he said. “Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet because there was some reporting out there that the Blackhawks and Bedard are a couple of million dollars apart. And then I saw a separate report that said Bedard was looking for $17 million a year. To my knowledge, the Blackhawks and Bedard have not even begun negotiating yet. They have not traded a single number. That’s not on the part of the Blackhawks. They’re ready to do this dance. They’re prepped – it’s go time. They need to wait for the other party, which is Bedard’s camp, who might want to slowplay this.”

While Bedard could very well be trying to wait and see what kind of deal that San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini, who was selected one year later with the first overall pick, Seravalli doesn’t believe that’s the case.
“I don’t personally think that the Macklin Celebrini contract has anything at all to do with Connor Bedard’s next deal,” Seravalli said. “I view Celebrini as being in a completely separate category from Bedard. I view it like the Kirill Kaprizov contract. It’s so much of an outlier that no one else even considers it a comp. Whatever Celebrini does, unless he takes a drastic underpayment, I don’t see a way that’s going to impact what happens next with Bedard.”

Connor Bedard Was Selected First Overall In 2023

The Blackhawks secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft after winning the Draft Lottery, giving the organization a franchise-altering opportunity. They used the selection to draft Connor Bedard, who has quickly emerged as the face of the rebuilding franchise and one of the league’s brightest young stars.

Although Bedard has yet to make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, Chicago is hopeful its ongoing rebuild will soon return meaningful postseason hockey to the Windy City and its passionate fan base.