What will Connor Bedard’s next contract look like?
With the regular season coming to a close and another April with no playoff hockey for the Blackhawks — the focus shifts to Connor Bedard and his future in Chicago. The 20-year-old is going to be an RFA on July 1, 2026.
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We are now 3 years into the Bedard era and the young core is slowly coming together. With the arrival of pieces like Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Nick Lardis, and more - the Blackhawks now look to start locking up these assets.
Alex Vlasic was the first player of the young wave to sign long-term, in 2024 Vlasic signed a 6 year $4,600,000 AAV contract that will run until 2030. Frank Nazar would follow suit in the summer of 2025 by signing a 7 year contract worth over $46,000,000 ($6,599,991 AAV) that kicks in next season. Unlike Connor Bedard however, Nazar’s contract has some risk — Nazar gets the guaranteed money, but if he reaches his full potential then it will be considered an underpay. Nazar gets the safety, Blackhawks take the risk. With Connor Bedard, we know what he is capable of and what kind of player he is already. There will be very little, if any risk to his first big contract.
There is no doubt that Bedard wants to be in Chicago long-term “I know I wanna be here, and we’ll, I know we’ll get it done soon, I don’t think if it’s not done in a month there’s any worry or anything, it’s uh, it’s just get done when it gets done kind of thing” - Bedard at the end of season media availability.
Now, we know whatever the terms of the contract end up being, he is going to make a lot of money. And rightfully so, he is the face of the team and by far the most valuable player. However it’s not as easy as throwing a blank check his way — GM Kyle Davidson needs to project what this team is going to look like in the long-term and carefully plan out the complex cap puzzle that can either make or break the success of a rebuild. “In the end there’s only so many dollars to go around. You wanna build a deep team, you wanna build a team that you feel is a championship roster, which is why we do this. So we wanna get it right, and you wanna make sure that, you know, both sides feel there’s common ground there, and so we will get down to finding that shortly, but certainly we wanna make sure we’re more than fair, while also understanding that this is uh, there is a finite amount of money to go around while, um, and to spend on our roster again while being fair to a very good, elite young player.” - Kyle Davidson at the end of season media availability.
In 219 regular season games, Bedard has put up 203 points (75 goals and 128 assists) and is coming off his first point per game season — 75 points in 69 games, it was also his first 30 goal season. To start the 2025-2026 campaign, Bedard was playing at a 116 point pace through 31 games (44 points). He would miss 13 games, and come back right before the Olympic break, but he wasn’t the same. Bedard still wasn’t 100%. Not only did it show in his play, but Head Coach Jeff Blashill also wasn’t letting him take faceoffs.
203 points in 219 games and still only 20 years of age isn’t just impressive — it’s a sign of a franchise altering player. So what is his next contract going to look like? According to Blackhawks insider Frank Seravalli — Bedard can expect to make anywhere from $12.5-$15 million dollars AAV if he signs an 8-year deal. However, I don’t think the dollar value is anyone’s concern, at least among fans. The big question is how likely is Bedard to sign for the full 8 years? Connor Bedard has always been a loyal player. Looking back at his time in the WHL playing for the Regina Pats — in Bedard’s final season with the team in 2022-2023, the team struggled. Finishing the year with a 34-30-3-1 record and getting knocked out in round 1, Bedard was offered the option to be traded to a contender part way through the year. He said no. “We’re not doing it and Connor has the final say. He wants to be a Regina Pat and finish his career in Regina, clear?” - Head Coach John Paddock. Bedard has also said on record many times he fully believes in the direction of the team and he wants to win in Chicago. If you ask me, there is no doubt in my mind Bedard signs long-term. Although if he wants 8 years, he will have to sign before September 16, 2026. Not that there’s any worry the negotiations will last until September.
Bedard’s next contract will have bigger implications than just the financial construction of the team, but rather it will set a standard league wide. Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini are two of the most exciting young faces of the NHL who will be the first to sign long-term out of their ELC’s with the rapidly rising cap.
