While enjoying the summer weather somewhere outdoors in his hometown of Vancouver, Chicago Blackhawks franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard jumped on Zoom and spoke with the media on Monday morning for the first time since signing a new five-year, $75 million contract extension over the weekend.
The newly turned 21-year-old was showered with congratulations from various reporters while fielding questions surrounding a wide range of topics. Monday was also the first time Bedard was made available to the media since suffering a left shoulder injury during offseason training earlier this month, which will force him to miss the start of the 2026-27 regular season after undergoing successful surgery.
Naturally, the first topic the star center spoke about was his left shoulder, as he was immediately asked about how it’s feeling and what the recovery has been like thus far. Bedard appeared to be in good spirits while discussing the injury, even though he’s surely internally frustrated that another fluke incident will keep him off the ice for an extended period.
“It’s feeling good. Almost two weeks from surgery now, Bedard said. “I’m just kind of grinding and doing everything I can to hopefully make it as good and speedy as I can. Obviously, it’s still pretty early, but it’s feeling good.”
Bedard also shed some insight on the process of deciding to get surgery this time around, something he chose not to do after hurting his right shoulder last season against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12. He went over options with the organization and doctors to determine the best route forward, with the ultimate conclusion unfortunately being that surgery was necessary to mitigate the risk of reinjury.
Despite the devastating news, Bedard has attempted to maintain a positive demeanor with the situation and recognizes there’s nothing left to do but rehab to the best of his abilities.
“Once it happens, you can’t change it. I try to attack it with a good mindset and do everything I can to make it go as smooth as possible… No one wants to get hurt, but now all I can do is approach it one day at a time and do the best I can in that way.”
As for what the rest of his summer entails now that he’ll be focused on recovery, Bedard plans to remain mostly in Vancouver alongside a team of people the Blackhawks and his surgeon trust. Bedard underwent surgery on Jul. 8 and was given an estimated recovery timeline of four months. NHL training camps are expected to begin in early to mid-September, just under two months from now.
“I have a good team of people here [who will help] work on this and try to make sure recovery goes smoothly. Different physio or different workouts to do to stay prepared and get this thing back to 100 percent as quickly as possible.”
Bedard’s New Contract
Coming off a career-best campaign in 2025-26 in which he reached the 30-goal and 75-point plateaus for the first time, Bedard was undoubtedly due for a substantial pay raise on his second contract. But once Leo Carlsson, another restricted free-agent forward this summer, signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, which the Anaheim Ducks eventually matched, it felt like Bedard was about to receive a larger payday than initially anticipated.
In the end, Bedard and the Blackhawks agreed to a five-year contract extension with a $15 million cap hit, which is $3 million less than Carlsson’s cap hit with the Ducks. Considering the production gap between the two top 2023 draft picks through three seasons, with Bedard having 62 more points than Carlsson in 18 more career appearances, it seems like a bargain well struck for Chicago.
While there was plenty of speculation in recent weeks that Carlsson’s offer sheet would impact Bedard’s negotiations, he said on Monday that it didn’t really change anything from his perspective with the Blackhawks.
“I’m very happy with the amount of money I’m making,” Bedard said with a chuckle. “It’s a lot. I think with [Carlsson], the opportunity is different as well. With a team trying to take a guy, it’s going to be a different value. For me, that didn’t change anything.”
For perhaps the 100th time since being drafted three summers ago, Bedard verbally reaffirmed his love for the Blackhawks and his commitment to the organization. Despite what some folks might say online after electing not to sign for the maximum term of eight years on his latest deal, it’s evident he believes in what’s being built by general manager Kyle Davidson.
“I’ve said it so much, and it’s not anything fake. Chicago’s really the only place I want to play. Just seeing the growth of our young guys, just how good of a group we are in the room, how tight it is, and how much fun we have. I’m very happy to get this deal signed and focus on the team. I’m excited to get back and get going.”
Offseason Additions
Bedard also spoke highly of Davidson’s offseason transactions, which include the free-agent additions of Cole Smith and Ian Cole, and the trade acquisitions of Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres.
From one Western Canada boy to another, Bedard showed a lot of love for Byram, who will serve as the Blackhawks’ No. 1 defenseman starting next season.
“I think we’ve had a great summer. Getting [Byram], he’s going to be one of the best defensemen in the league,” Bedard said. “He’s always shown that but played behind Cale [Makar] and [Rasmus] Dahlin, so it’s not easy to take their spots… He’s one of the most skilled players in the league. His motivation to prove [he’s a No. 1 defenseman) is unbelievable, and his excitement to be with us is great for the team.”
When talking about Cole, Bedard joked that he’s been on the wrong end of a few checks from the veteran defenseman in the past and is pleased he’ll now go to battle alongside him this year.
“I think Ian Cole has probably landed the most cross-checks on me out of anyone in my life, but now he’s my teammate, and we’re both going to work for each other, which is the beautiful thing [about hockey].”
“Then obviously getting Cole in free agency, Greenway as well, a lot of pieces, we’ve added a lot of pieces that can help our team & make us better. It’s hard not to be happy.”
Thoughts On Kane Reunion
During the final stages of his 20-minute chat with the media, Bedard was asked about Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios recently stating on a Chicago radio station that Patrick Kane is deciding between the Blackhawks and his hometown Sabres to sign with this summer.
Like most Blackhawks fans on any social media platform, Bedard couldn’t hold back his excitement about the possibility of “Showtime” returning to the Windy City. In fact, he seems all aboard with the idea.
“I couldn’t imagine his first game back at the UC, the reaction he would get, and how much juice that would bring to not only our team, but our fans as well,” Bedard said. “That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him. Hopefully he decides to come back… It would make us a way better team. He’s still an amazing player. I don’t know, probably not the best pitch. But hopefully he comes back & we can play together.”
Through three seasons, Bedard has yet to have a linemate with a skill set that resembles Kane’s in the slightest, so the concept of bringing in the three-time Stanley Cup champion naturally should intrigue him. However, Bedard has also been outspoken about his team goal of becoming more competitive next season, and Kane can still help the Blackhawks in that manner, too.
“We want to take a big step this year. We want to be a playoff team, and that’s our only goal.”
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