THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS | Bedard’s Burden, Confusing Contracts & Another Long Season Ahead
the Chicago Blackhawks. And we stay with misery here because this is a club that has had three consecutive last place finishes in the central 61 points last year. Jeff Blashel takes over for Andrew Sorenson behind the bench. But the reality team hasn’t been above sixth place in the last eight years. I don’t think it’s going to get much better this year. The notable ads for this club, Andre Burkovski was acquired in a trade from Seattle for Joe Valeno who eventually wound up signing with the Montreal Canadians. Burkovski is slotted in as a firstline player with Connor Baddard and Ryan Donado. They also pick up Sam Laferdy in a trade with Buffalo. He’s projected to be on the fourth line and Dominic Toninado signings to UFA from the Winnipeg Jets. They do hold on to pending USA Ryan Donado who had a career year 30 goals four years average of four million a year and they hold on to defenseman and RFA Louisie Krevier goalie Arvin Soder Bloom and here’s the shocker Neil and this is a signing that will be effective in the 2627 season and now you got to wonder What is GM Kyle Davidson thinking here? Because he signed center Frank Nazar who slots in number two behind Bard. He’s played 56 games in the NHL. Signs it for a 7-year 6.6 million extension after his entry level contract expires at the end of this season. So, if you’re talking about salaries gone wild and stuff that doesn’t make sense, you sent me this text when this deal was signed. My jaw dropped. I don’t know whose wouldn’t drop when you see that. Like I you barely heard of Frank Naser and he gets that kind of deal. And here’s the question to you. Unless I am completely out of it, which could be after your entrylevel deal expires, you’re not unrestricted, right? Correct. You’re an RFA. You’re not qualified. So, there was no reason to have to give this guy this kind of a contract. And they certainly had another promising center in their organization that they didn’t qualify, and that was Philip Kurichev, who went off to San Jose. But you talk stupid money, this is right there. I don’t understand what’s going on. It’s a It’s another one of these things. I just don’t get it. Couple of other players that drop from the Chicago roster, both retirements. Alec Martinez retired on April 12th. He scored the two biggest goals perhaps in Kings history. He had the overtime winner in game seven against Chicago in the Western Conference final and then the doubleot winner to win the cup for the Kings against the Rangers. And Pat Maroon announced his retirement effective April the 12th. He won the Stanley Cup in St. Louis in 2019 and then turned around and did backto back with Tampa in 20 and 21. So there goes some championship pedigree and some character out of that locker room as well. Yeah, Pat Maroon is a very well-liked player, whatever locker room he’s in. And then I want to comment on Andre Burkovski. They Seattle trades him and gets back Joe Valino and then Joe Valino signs elsewhere. And so that’s how much Seattle thought of Burkovski that they would like that they’d trade him for nothing. Yeah. So I don’t see this lineup in Chicago and I like Nick Felino as a captain. I think he’s a character guy. I don’t see this lineup as a going to be in the going to be in the mix with these teams that we’ve just reviewed. I don’t see them fighting with Utah and St. Louis. I don’t see there’s any way. I think they’re going to be back to fighting with San Jose for a lottery pick. Davidson has Conor Bard’s contract, his entry level deal expiring at the end of this year. Bard has come under a little bit of heat. Look, you’re expecting a smalish player to turn the franchise around when he was selected number one overall in 2023. But the truth of the matter is, I think if people had a choice between Baddard and the 2024 number one overall pick that went to San Jose, Mlin Celibbrini, they’re choosing the latter. I I think you’re right in some regards. Bard is not in an easy situation in Chicago for a guy his size. He needs a Nate McKinnon type guy with him. a Messier type like a big strong centerman that comes out after him. Donado had a real good year last year. They resigned him. He offensively played real well. But Bard doesn’t have the kind of players around him that I think he needs to excel in the NHL. I think your points are great there. And you look at Bernard’s numbers and in terms of production, awful. first year 22 goals, 39 assists, and in his second year, 23 goals, and 44 assists. But his rookie season, he’s a minus 44, tied for second worst in the NHL. Last year, minus 36, tied for fifth worst along with Steven Stampos, who we just mentioned. So in two years he’s a minus 80. There has been a lot of criticism about his play away from the puck and again we’ve said there’s a lot of pressure that’s put on him and you would just mention the supporting cast that he has. Tamo Terrainan, Tyler Bertusi, Nick Felino, Ilia Mavev. And you look at these players that once you get past Donado, those four players that I just mentioned are probably bottom six forwards on virtually every other team in the NHL. Yeah, it Bard has doesn’t have people to play with. And when you look at it, you think perhaps what the Blackhawk organization thinks is that Nazar best thing they’ve got to Bard and they need them both to be able to compete. But I don’t see yet a competitive lineup here. And we haven’t even gone into some of the stuff that’s in this. I just I don’t see it. And for Badard himself, there’s no Mike Bossi there to give the puck to. And yes, you’re right. Badard’s defensive game, if you’ve seen him play, it’s awful. His defensive game. Anyway, let’s go through what they’ve the what the rest of the lineup looks like. There’s not much there in terms of their backline. It’s a lot of no-name players. They do have three prospects in Arim Lechinoff, Sam Renzel, and Kevin Cchinsky. And in goal, it looks like it’s going to be a split between Spencer Knight and Arvid Soder Bloom. So to that end, Neil, when you’ve got a club that personnel-wise is easily in the bottom tenth of the league, bottom 10% terms of what your personnel is. If you’re Jeff Bl, you’re starting out, it’s your first year behind the bench. did have number of years with the Detroit Red Wings, but starting off with the Chicago Blackhawks. Do you almost have to approach this like Marco Sturm in Boston? And granted, Sturm has David Pastron, but there’s not a lot behind him either. Do you have to get into a defense first mindset just in order to compete? You’re going to have to put together a system that locks it down all the time. and to be able to compete. The way that that coaches do get teams to overachieve, you can’t go offense with this lineup. So, that leads you to Bard again. Yeah. Can Bard play in a system that’s defense first? I doubt it. I should call my good friend John Paddock who coached him in Regina and ask him if he thinks he can. But, you know, Jeff Blash has not coached head coached playoff hockey and I can tell you he’s going to be waiting a little while longer to coach playoff hockey in Chicago. But what is the first thing that you do with this group? You institute a system that is, as you said, defense first and you lock the other team down. And when you get your opportunities to go back on the offense on a mistake by the other team, that’s when you take your opportunity. Black folks were tiresome to get through. As were the Nashville Prep. They are. It’s hard because you really What are you going to say? And I say this to everybody out there listening. What are you going to say about this team? It’s it clearly is a rebuilding team trying to rebuild and they’re not out of the starting blocks yet and they haven’t been out of the starting blocks in a while. No, that’s the hard part. If you’re a Blackhawks fan, you got Bard two years ago and you thought you were going to see an upswing and the reality is 61 points last year. I don’t see much of an improvement over that and they may even regress. They might and I I don’t Their defense has really The only real highly recognizable name is Connor Murphy who’s been around for a long time and is near the end of his career. Alex Vic is pretty good, but the other names I don’t even hardly know them. And the young guy left is up and coming, but he’s it’s hard to play defense in the National Hockey League as a young guy. So stay tuned, Blackhawk fans.
THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS | Bedard’s Burden, Confusing Contracts & Another Long Season Ahead
In this Summer Coolers edition of NHL Wraparound, hosts Neil Smith and Vic Morren take a sobering look at the Chicago Blackhawks, a franchise still in the early stages of a rebuild despite having Connor Bedard, the most hyped first-overall pick in years.
Chicago finished last in the Central Division for a third straight season and posted just 61 points in 2024–25. With few meaningful additions and continued roster instability, Neil and Vic examine whether this team has moved forward at all—or if it’s still stalled at the starting line.
The hosts break down puzzling offseason decisions by GM Kyle Davidson, including the $46.2 million contract extension for Frank Nazar, who has barely touched NHL ice, and the team’s inability to retain Philipp Kurashev. With questionable signings like Andre Burakovsky, Sam Lafferty, and Jordan Harris, the team appears no closer to contention.
Despite Bedard’s individual offensive production (22G, 39A in Year 1; 23G, 44A in Year 2), he has a combined -80 rating over two seasons, and lacks a true support cast. They also explore what new head coach Jeff Blashill can realistically achieve with a bottom-tier roster and whether defense-first hockey is even viable given Bedard’s weaknesses without the puck.
IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:00] A three-year rebuild with no traction
[00:38] Frank Nazar’s shocking extension
[01:00] Reviewing Chicago’s minimal offseason moves
[02:00] Bedard vs. Celebrini: Are fans already second-guessing the pick?
[03:00] Connor Bedard’s playmaking—and defensive lapses
[04:00] Veterans lost: Pat Maroon & Alec Martinez retire
[04:32] Can Jeff Blashill fix anything in Year 1?
[05:30] Where is the leadership and scoring help?
[06:00] Blue line depth—or lack thereof
[07:00] Goaltending preview: Soderblom vs. Spencer Knight
[08:30] Reality check: Can this team compete?
[09:30] Should Chicago shift to a defense-first system?
[11:00] Why fans may have to wait even longer for progress
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Connor Bedard can’t carry this team on his own. While his offensive numbers are strong, his defensive game has drawn league-wide criticism.
The Frank Nazar contract ($6.6M x 7 years starting 2026–27) raises serious concerns about Chicago’s salary strategy and projection risks.
Despite a few gritty offseason additions, Chicago lacks scoring depth, defensive reliability, and veteran leadership.
Jeff Blashill’s first year behind the bench may be defined more by survival than success.
Chicago will likely compete for another lottery pick rather than a playoff spot, with fan patience wearing thin.
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