The Chicago Blackhawks checked the biggest task off their offseason to-do list Saturday when Connor Bedard signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension. The deal keeps him with the team through the 2030-31 season, after which he can become an unrestricted free agent.
For the 21-year-old center, the extension was always meant to be.
“Obviously it’s a relief and nice to get it done for myself and the team,” Bedard said Monday in a video conference with reporters. “I don’t think there was any stress involved with it. We both knew it wasn’t going to take too many calls or meetings to get it done.
“It’s not anything fake: Chicago is really the only place I want to play. Seeing the growth of our young guys and just how good of a group we are in the room — how tight it is, how much fun we have — I’m very happy to get this deal signed and just focus on the team. Excited to get back and get going.”
The deal provides security for both the Hawks and Bedard, who won’t be on the ice when the season begins. He’s recovering from left shoulder surgery after a fall during practice in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia.
This will be the third time in Bedard’s four NHL seasons that he won’t be able to play a full season — now 84 games starting this year. It’s frustrating, but he’s taking it in stride until he returns.
“You’re just trying to figure out what the best steps are for myself, (and) at the end of the day, once it happens you can’t change it,” Bedard said. “Initially there’s obviously frustration (because) no one wants to get hurt. Now all I can do is approach it one day at a time and do the best I can in that way.”
Bedard enters Year 4 with a collection of Hawks records for players under 21, headlined by his 203 points in 219 career games. Eddie Olczyk had the previous franchise record with 180 points before turning 21.
Coming off a career-best 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in 69 games last season, Bedard had some leverage in extension talks. There was speculation that the 2023 No. 1 pick was waiting on others from his draft class to sign as a floor for beginning discussions.
Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson, the No. 2 selection in 2023, made the initial move by signing a five-year, $90 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Ducks matched the offer shortly after to retain him.
Don Meehan, Bedard’s agent, told The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus that Bedard didn’t feel any differently after Carlsson’s deal.
“He was happy with the original position that we had submitted to Chicago and negotiated,” Meehan said. “He wanted the team to have as much leeway to make the team as effective and competitive as it could be. He became aware of the changing economic landscape, but that was his decision, entirely his decision.”
Bedard on Monday confirmed his agent’s words.
“The offer sheet is different, as well, with a team trying to take a guy, (so) it’s going to be a different value,” Bedard said. “For me, that didn’t change anything.”
It’s not like he’s hurting for money anyway. The $15 million average annual value is the largest in Hawks history — and the third-largest in the NHL currently — and he’ll be making more than double the next-highest-paid Hawks forward (Frank Nazar, $6.6 million AAV).
Bedard turned 21 the day before signing his extension. That’s some birthday gift.
“I mean, I’m very happy with the amount of money I’m making — it’s a lot,” Bedard said with a $75 million smile.
Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson made a handful of moves this summer while keeping most of his young players on the roster. He traded for 25-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram — and signed him to a six-year, $75 million extension — and added left wing Cole Smith, 30, and defenseman Ian Cole, 37, in free agency.
All three new Hawks mentioned that Bedard was one of the first people to reach out when they joined the team. Bedard reiterated his excitement about the additions, dubbing the Hawks offseason as a “great, great summer.”
“Getting (Byram), he’s someone who’s going to be one of the best D-men in the league,” Bedard said of the former Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres player. “When you play behind Cale (Makar) and (Rasmus) Dahlin, it’s not easy to take their spots, (so) for him to get that opportunity to be that No. 1 and prove himself in that way, he’s going to do it.
“And then getting Ian and Cole in free agency, (Jordan) Greenway as well (in the Byram trade), we’ve added a lot of pieces that help our team and make us better. I think Ian Cole probably landed the most cross-checks on me out of anyone else in my life, but now he’s my teammate and we’re both going to go to war for each other, which is the beautiful thing about hockey.”
It was very captain-like of Bedard to reach out to the new players. He downplayed the action — “I don’t know if I see it as a role” — but reiterated that he would be honored to have the “C” bestowed upon him.
“It would be special for sure,” he said. “Just getting to play for the Blackhawks organization in general without any of that is the best thing in the world. If I was able to get that honor, it would be so special and something I know I wouldn’t take for granted for a second.”
Bedard could have one more new teammate. Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios shared Wednesday on The Score that unrestricted free agent Patrick Kane is deciding between the Hawks and Sabres as his next destination.
Would Bedard like to see Kane return to the Hawks?
“I hope so,” he said. “I don’t know what I can say to persuade his decision, but obviously we’d all be so excited to have a player like that (and) also a guy like that. I can’t imagine his first game back at the (United Center), the reaction he’d get and how much juice that would bring to not only our team but our fans.
“You talk about the legacy aspect of it, but he would make us a way better team (because) he’s still an amazing player. I don’t know if this is the best pitch, but hopefully he comes back and we can play together.”
