Chicago, IL (AP) – Connor Bedard never wavered. Whenever the young center was asked about his future, he always responded with similar variations of the same message.
All the way to his $75 million, five-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I’ve said (it) so much and it’s not anything fake. Chicago’s really, you know, the only place I want to play,” Bedard said.
Bedard’s new deal was announced on Saturday, a day after his 21st birthday. It provides a level of security for both Bedard and the rebuilding Blackhawks, even if it always seemed as if it was just a matter of the final numbers than any sort of question about the end result.
Some intrigue arrived when Leo Carlsson, another restricted free agent, signed a $90 million, five-year offer sheet with Philadelphia before going back to Anaheim when the Ducks decided to match the offer sheet. But Bedard stayed with his plans all along.
It was always Chicago.
“I’m very happy with the amount of money I’m making. You know, it’s a lot,” a chuckling Bedard said Monday in his first public comments since the deal was announced. “I think just with that, obviously the offer sheet is different as well. You know with a team trying to take a guy, it is going to be a different value. But for me, that didn’t change anything I was thinking.”
The final details were completed after Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder on July 8. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft is expected to miss the start of the season after he got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players in western Canada.
Bedard also missed 12 games last season after he hurt his right shoulder on a draw during a 3-2 loss at St. Louis on Dec. 12.
“You always do everything you can to try to prevent injury and stay healthy,” he said. “It’s a terrible part of the game but it’s something that you know I think for me to have this next little bit and go through that adversity and try to get stronger, you know, mentally in that way. That’s the way I’m trying to look at it and then come back.”
Bedard has been Chicago’s most important player since he made his anticipated NHL debut in October 2023. He continued his steady improvement in his third season, setting career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games.
But he hasn’t experienced much winning since arriving in Chicago. The Blackhawks went 29-39-14 last season, an 11-point improvement on the previous season and still nowhere near playoff contention. The team has finished No. 31 in the NHL each of the past three years.
Chicago is looking for its first postseason appearance since the NHL used an expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking to get the team back in contention, general manager Kyle Davidson swung a trade for defenseman Bowen Byram on June 23. The Blackhawks also signed forward prospect Roman Kantserov in May, and then added forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole on the first day of free agency.
“I think we’ve had a great summer,” Bedard said.
But Chicago could use another top-six forward, possibly to play alongside Bedard, and, well, Patrick Kane remains on the market as a free agent. The 37-year-old Kane, who helped the Blackhawks win three Stanley Cup championships before he was traded to the New York Rangers in February 2023, is reportedly considering a return to his first NHL team.
“That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him,” Bedard said. “So hopefully he decides to come back. … You talk about kind of the legacy aspect of it, but just as a team, it would make us a way better team. He’s still an amazing player.”
With the contract completed, the next big moment for Bedard could be taking over as the 36th captain in franchise history. He became an alternate captain after the team traded away its entire leadership group in March.
“If I was able to get that honor, it would be so special and something that I know I wouldn’t take for granted for a second,” Bedard said. “But we got so many guys in the room that can lead.”
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