The Blackhawks are heading into 2026-27 with a few real hooks worth watching, and the biggest one comes with a familiar face. Chicago’s future still feels like a work in progress, but after last season’s steps forward from Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic and Spencer Knight, the next phase of the rebuild is starting to come into focus.
Patrick Kane is back in Chicago, and this one has a lot more substance than nostalgia. On July 23, Kane agreed to a two-year deal with an $8 million annual average value and a full no-move clause, bringing him back to the team that drafted him. The 37-year-old was the center of attention on the free-agent market this summer, with Chris Chelios saying on 104.3 The Score that it came down to Chicago or his hometown Buffalo Sabres.
Bedard, who signed a five-year, $15 million AAV extension on July 18, made it clear he’d welcome the reunion. “I don’t know what I could say to persuade his decision, but we’d all be so excited to have a player like that,” Bedard said. “That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him.”
Kane, for his part, wasn’t interested in being treated like a ceremonial return. “I’m not coming home to ride off into the sunset,” Kane said. “I want to be a big player here.”
That matters because this isn’t just about one last bow in Chicago. Kane was brought in to help Bedard, especially as a linemate who can keep up and contribute on the power play.
Back in Bedard’s rookie 2023-24 season, he and Philipp Kurashev clicked enough to give Kurashev the best year of his career, finishing with 54 points, including 18 goals and 36 assists. Since then, the top line hasn’t found that kind of steady production.
Kane’s presence gives the Blackhawks a player who can still create the kind of high-end moments that shaped the dynasty years of the 2010s, when he won three Stanley Cups with the organization.
The season starts Sept. 29 against the Vegas Golden Knights, and the home opener comes Oct. 4 against the St. Louis Blues.
Another storyline worth tracking is Anton Frondell’s first full season. The 19-year-old Swedish forward helped his country win gold at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, finishing with eight points - five goals and three assists - and earned the tournament’s best forward honor. He then made his NHL debut on March 24 against the New York Islanders.
The third-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft posted nine points, with three goals and six assists, in 12 games with the Blackhawks. His power-play work stood out, and his shot already carries serious force. Frondell plays a style that looks similar to Bedard’s, which gives Chicago a pair of young forwards who can shoulder a lot of the offense together, whether that’s at five-on-five or on the man advantage.
Then there’s the early-season gap created by Bedard’s shoulder injury, suffered during practice on July 2. He’ll be out for at least the first month, which puts the spotlight on who can keep the attack moving until he returns.
Frank Nazar is the cleanest answer. He’s arguably Chicago’s second-best player and brings the kind of pace and energy that can tilt a game.
Last season, he put up 41 points, including 15 goals and 26 assists, in 66 games. He’s now entering the second year of his seven-year, $6.6 million AAV contract, and he looks like a fixture in the top six for a long time.
With his speed and skill, he fits naturally into the role of temporary lead option.
Ryan Donato is another logical choice. The 30-year-old has missed just six games over three seasons in Chicago, and he has proven he can produce.
In 2024-25, he finished with 62 points, including 31 goals and 31 assists, in 80 games. He followed that with 30 points, split evenly at 15 goals and 15 assists, in 82 games last season.
Donato’s value comes from his net-front presence and his ability to slide around the lineup, which gives the Blackhawks another dependable way to generate offense while Bedard recovers.
Frondell also belongs in that conversation. He showed in his brief NHL look that he can cover a lot of ice, and his power-play ability already stands out. With his physical play and hockey sense, he could earn more minutes right away and become part of the solution in Bedard’s absence.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Rebuild Could Speed Up If This Draft Plan Happens
The Blackhawks long rebuild has always been about timing as much as talent, and one of the next big tests may come well before the 2027 draft. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that Chicago is expected to use at least some of its stockpile of future first-round picks to upgrade the NHL roster, a sign that the front office may be ready to turn surplus draft capital into a more immediate help. Around the league, recent trades involving first-rounders for young players have shown how aggressively teams can move when they see a chance to accelerate the climb.
For a Chicago team still shaping its core, that kind of move would mark a meaningful shift in strategy and a bet that the next step comes faster through the trade market than the draft. The Blackhawks have three 2027 first-round picks at their disposal, and the question now is not whether they can afford to spend them, but how much of that future capital they are willing to convert into present-day impact. Around the hockey world, other roster moves also kept the transaction wire active, with Linus Oberg heading to Kiekko-Espoo and Igor Ozhiganov extending with Dynamo Moscow. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Just Made Bowen Byram Their Biggest Defensive Bet
Bowen Byram is arriving in Chicago with the kind of runway the Blackhawks have been trying to build around their blue line. General manager Kyle Davidson made clear the organization sees far more than a short-term add-on here, pointing to Byram as someone who can grow into a top defenseman for the franchise. Byram, for his part, sounded eager to take on the responsibility and get to work with a team still shaping its next core.
The move fits the Blackhawks broader push to turn promise into something sturdier, and it comes with a level of commitment that makes this more than a routine trade deadline swing. Byrams contract gives Chicago long-term control and plenty of certainty, which only raises the stakes on whether he can become the kind of difference-maker the front office believes it is getting. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Davidson Just Gave Blackhawks Fans A Fresh Reason For Hope
Kyle Davidson spent part of his offseason public-facing turn giving Blackhawks fans a clearer look at where the rebuild stands and why the organization believes it is moving in the right direction. In a podcast appearance, the general manager discussed the teams busy summer and offered a window into the work happening behind the scenes as Chicago continues sorting out its long-term plan.
For a fan base that has lived through years of turnover, any sign of steadiness from the top matters. Davidsons comments arrived amid a busy stretch around hockey, with the Red Wings still looking for a new general manager, Simon Despres landing with the Fort Wayne Komets and Kelly Hrudeys run at Sportsnet ending after 28 years, but the Blackhawks piece is the one that will resonate most in Chicago because it points back to the future the franchise is trying to build. [Read more 🡒]