Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard gets $98.9 million contract update from AFP Analytics originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Connor Bedard is set up to be the face of the Chicago Blackhawks for a long time.
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But exactly how long will be determined in part by this offseason’s contract negotiations as Bedard hits restricted free agency.
As an RFA, Bedard doesn’t hold all the negotiating power, but given the level of player he is, he’s still going to be paid incredibly well.
The projection system produced by AFP Analytics provides two ways of looking at Bedard’s free agency this offseason.
They first put together a short-term contract projection for Bedard, which they place as a three-year deal. In that instance, they project it’d cost Chicago $9.831 million per season to secure Bedard, a total value of $28.14 million.
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In that instance, Bedard would be betting on himself to earn a massive free agent deal once that shorter-term pact expired.
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The other option for Bedard and the Blackhawks is to think longer term. In that case, AFP Analytics suggests the maximum length, an eight-year deal.
In the eight-year projection, Bedard would get $12.364 million per season. That works out to a total value of $98.9 million.
The Blackhawks could probably get Bedard a little extra somewhere in the deal, too, to get the total value to be $100 million. It’s just more impressive for optics that way.
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Either way, Chicago is going to have to pay Bedard a lot of money, but he seems to be worth it.
Once the Blackhawks figure this out, they also have to focus on continuing to add talent around Bedard. They wouldn’t want such a big deal to go to waste.
But no matter what else Chicago does, it’s safe to expect Bedard to be paid handsomely.
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