The biggest question for the Chicago Blackhawks this offseason is whether they can ink a long-term extension with Connor Bedard as his entry-level contract expires. The next step would be to solidify the wingers to complement him.
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill had an idea for his top line: Ryan Greene, Bedard and André Burakovsky. A rookie on one side and a veteran on the other was an interesting combination to start.
Burakovsky was traded from Seattle to Chicago as an experienced wing expected to help Bedard unleash a new side of his game. Greene came in ready for a full season of hockey after playing two games in 2024-25.
With one game remaining, Greene put up a solid performance in 2025-26 and showed why he deserves to be a top-six forward. His 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) do not reflect the number of chances (107 shots on goal) he created.
For the 31-year-old Burakovsky, it has been a season to forget. He knows it, too.
“Can’t get much worse in my head than it’s been, but you got to stay positive,” Burakovsky said. “We all have to pay the price and dig in to help the team, (it’s) bigger than the individual, so (it’s about doing) whatever you can to help.”
Things started pretty well for the Swedish forward. He scored 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his first 17 games and the Hawks sat at 10-5-4 after their first 19 games.
The Hawks’ 20th game on Nov. 20 was Burakovsky’s undoing. He received a huge check from Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren that sidelined him for a week with an upper-body injury.
He has not been himself since and will end the season having failed to get his groove back. Since his return on Nov. 28, he’s scored just 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 56 games. He was goalless from Jan. 9 until March 8, and has one more game to score for the first time since March 9.
“It hasn’t been easy, it hasn’t gone the way I want to,” Burakovsky said. “I disappointed a lot of fans and people that I didn’t do more than I have. I’m disappointed myself and you don’t want to be in this situation.”
Blashill kept Burakovsky on the top line for far too long, and his reasons varied each time the elephant in the room was addressed. That changed when 2025 No. 3 draft pick Anton Frondell was called up on March 24 and Blashill placed the 12-year veteran in the bottom six.
“Production hasn’t been to the level that he expects or we want, (but) the chances have been there,” Blashill said before the game against the Islanders in Long Island. “It’s a chance for him to give us some depth scoring down the lineup a little bit, which we need.”
Burakovsky was a healthy scratch on April 6 in San Jose as production remained absent from the winger. Blashill echoed his loyalty to the forward before the Hawks’ final homestand.
“I get production matters for sure, and he and I have talked about that, but it’s not like he hasn’t created chances,” Blashill said before Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. “When we talk about what he was before, you can play the same game and create the same amount of chances and in one stretch they go in and one stretch they don’t, whether it’s him or his linemates and it looks way different.
“It clouds people’s minds as to how he’s playing, that’s why I like to take the human emotion out of it and look at scoring chances for and against. I think his game’s been better than his production.”
Greene and Bedard have expressed their enjoyment in skating alongside Burakovsky this season. The support from the vet’s coach and teammates has helped bandage the wound of the 2025-26 season.
“I’ve been having tremendous support from all my teammates and all our coaches throughout the entire year, so I’m super thankful for that,” Burakovsky said.
There’s a chance that the Hawks buy out Burakovsky’s contract this summer — which runs through the end of the 2026-27 season — as more prospects arrive with the team. Buying out his $5.5 million salary cap hit would incur a $3 million cap charge next season and $1.25 million in 2027-28.
Burakovsky hopes that’s not the case, but has accepted the scenario of donning a different sweater next year.
“My family likes it a lot here (and) my daughter found a school that she loves,” Burakovsky said of Chicago. “The team has been great to me, and I’ve been finding a lot of friends during this year I’ve been here, and I’ve really enjoyed the organization.
“I have one more year and my mind is here. If it’s not, it’s not, but my mind is here and I’m focused on Chicago and I want to prove to everyone that I’m so much better than what the stats have shown.”
