Wearing a captain’s patch in the NHL is much more than having a letter on your sweater. It signals a franchise’s trust in not only the player, but also his ability to lead a team to greatness.
The Chicago Blackhawks have had 36 captains in their century-long history, plus many more alternates. Nick Foligno was the most recent captain before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild on March 6.
The 37th Hawks captain hasn’t been decided, but all signs point to Connor Bedard receiving that honor. It would be a major step, but he thinks he’d be ready.
“I’m always going to feel like that — how tight our room is, how close everyone is off the ice, it makes it so easy for anyone to be in that role,” said Bedard, who turns 21 in July. “If I did get the ‘C,’ I’m not going to change who I am and become something different just because of that letter.
“It’s an added responsibility that I do think I’d be ready for — a lot of guys could be ready for it in that room — but it would be a special honor.”
As with contract extension talks for Bedard, there’s no timeline pressure and discussions still need to be had.
“We’re building this team for the Chicago Blackhawks, (and) something like naming a captain is an extremely important and impactful decision and we want to be thoughtful about that,” general manager Kyle Davidson said. “I have a good feel for the room, but you want to do your due diligence and make sure everyone feels feels the same (and) everyone’s voice is heard.
“No rush to determine the next captain — if we do wish to go down that road. We have gone without (one before).”
The young Hawks saw Foligno and alternate captains Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy (both to the Edmonton Oilers in separate deals) get shipped to Stanley Cup hopefuls at the trade deadline. They accepted the challenge of filling the gaps the trio left behind and becoming their own types of leaders.
“It was a good opportunity for everybody to step up,” Alex Vlasic said. “It wasn’t just one person. The older guys (and) the younger guys, everybody was feeling it out for themselves. We managed to figure out some things on our own. It was a really cool opportunity and a lot of fun for us each to be a leader in our own way.”
Several of Bedard’s teammates gave their nods of approval for him to become captain. “I think (Bedard) has every leadership quality to be a captain in this league,” Oliver Moore said. “He brings it every day and he hates being (out of the playoffs) more than anyone else.”Added Ryan Greene: “You don’t really see what goes on behind the scenes, but I think he’s the perfect guy for it. (He) cares about his teammates, checks in on everybody all the time. He’s our guy, so he’s leading the way in a lot of different ways.”
“Captain Connor” would lead an even younger Hawks team if given the patch for the 2026-27 season. Prospects such as Roman Kantserov are projected to be coming in, and the Hawks’ top-four draft pick in June could make his NHL debut sooner than later. Anton Frondell, Nick Lardis and others received their first NHL stints in 2025-26.
“We’ve got so many guys across everywhere you’re looking, basically any league, and you could be watching one of our prospects,” Bedard said. “That’s exciting how many guys we could have, and we’ve got a lot of picks that will turn out.”
While the Hawks’ 29-39-14 finish this season was an improvement from 2024-25, it was the league’s second-worst record. The result wasn’t unexpected, but it did leave much to be desired after a hopeful 10-5-4 start.
Most of the players echoed each other’s sentiment about making the playoffs next season. A patched No. 98 leading the Hawks to the postseason might be a picture-perfect scenario.
“If I’m the one who is chosen for that, I’d be extremely grateful and that’s not something anyone would take for granted,” Bedard said. “This is a special organization, it’s been around for 100 years now. You see the names that have gotten that honor, that would be amazing.
“But (it’s) whatever fits the team best and whatever Kyle and everyone is thinking.”
