We are in year three of the Connor Bedard era in Chicago, and things are still not looking like what Hawks fans were hoping for.

That has nothing to do with Connor Bedard, as he’s shown why he was unanimously selected with the first overall pick by the Blackhawks. The issue is how the Blackhawks’ management has handled Bedard. 

While the Blackhawks are progressing in their rebuild, this process has been ongoing since 2020 and still has no end in sight. The young guys like Spencer Knight and Frank Nazar are nice blossoming studs, but it hasn’t turned into wins.

With 2 years remaining on Bedard’s rookie contract, things need to change and need to change very quickly; otherwise, the Hawks’ biggest star since Kane will go elsewhere.

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The Blackhawks Are Failing Connor Bedard

The front office has refused to pursue big stars in the offseason or the trade market, and if you wanna win, you have to get aggressive.

While Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson is looking four to five years toward the future, he needs to understand that stars don’t like to wait.

As this rebuild continues to drag on, Bedard may grow increasingly frustrated with the team’s direction. To make matters worse, Bedard suffered a shoulder injury recently against the rival Blues that will put him on the shelf until at least early January.

This doesn’t help the Hawks’ case at all because now they could potentially lose more games due to the injury of their star player. The Blackhawks need to get a better roster than it is right now; it’d be another wasted opportunity for them and Bedard to make some progress in the record column. 

Playing Out of Position

Another issue is that Bedard is not fit to be a center; while he has improved his game at the position, it doesn’t feel natural.

Bedard would work better as a wing with his slap and wrist shot ability. With Frank Nazar on the roster, he can easily slide into the center role while the Hawks wait for their 2025 1st round pick, Anton Frondell, to make his way to the NHL.

It’s no secret the Hawks misuse Bedard by putting him as a center when he’s 5”10 and weighs less than 200 pounds. You can see why he gets thrown around like a ragdoll out there.

Centers are meant to be these big guys who are well over 6 feet and more muscle, and Bedard does not meet the criteria for a good center in the NHL. This misuse of putting Bedard as a center is just another reason why the Hawks are ruining his potential of what he could be. 

Coaching Problems

The coaching Bedard has been playing under in his first two seasons in the NHL has been mediocre to say the least. Bedard had Luke Richardson as his head coach, and that didn’t turn out well.

Richardson ultimately got fired as the head coach, and the Hawks looked elsewhere. Unfortunately for Bedard, the Hawks settled on Jeff Blashill, and while he’s a slight improvement from Richardson, it’s a very low bar to achieve.

The Hawks aren’t doing a whole lot better when it comes to wins. Many Blackhawks fans have hoped the team would have gone after a more established and well-known coach with a proven track record, and believed that the Hawks were pretty underwhelming in their coaching hire of Blashill.

So far, the fans are right, and the Hawks are once again near the bottom of the standings for what seems like an eternity now. The Blackhawks need to change things and fast to help benefit Bedard and his potential. Otherwise, it may be time to say goodbye to Bedard in Chicago way earlier than the team and fans expected.