Connor Bedard’s place on The Athletic’s latest player tiers says as much about the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster as it does about Bedard himself.
The 2023 draft lottery win was supposed to be the moment Chicago turned the corner, with Bedard positioned to drag the Blackhawks out of their rebuild and back into Stanley Cup contention. Instead, he’s heading into his fourth season without a playoff game on his résumé. That’s not the arrival anyone in Chicago had in mind.
None of that reads like a knock on Bedard’s talent. The issue is what he’s been asked to work with. Kyle Davidson built the roster around him for those first three seasons, and the results have left Bedard carrying a team that has struggled badly in a difficult Western Conference.
That tension showed up again in The Athletic’s preseason player tiers. After five writers spoke with 20 people around hockey, Bedard landed in the third tier, reserved for a top-60 player who “may not be the best player on a contender.” He was left out of both the “MVP” and “franchise player” groups.
The concern, according to the panel, centers on what Bedard looks like away from the puck. The Athletic’s write-up put it plainly: "Without the puck on his stick, though, is a very different story.
Yes, it’s hard to defend well on a team as poorly constructed as Chicago. But while there’s been a rise in compete, the flaws in Bedard's defensive game remain too significant to warrant the franchise status his offensive game arguably merits,"
That’s a hard label to swallow for a player of Bedard’s profile, especially with young names like Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer getting more favorable treatment. Still, the numbers do point to some real defensive issues.
Bedard’s plus/minus has improved over his three seasons in Chicago, but it’s remained underwater: minus-44 in 2023-24, minus-36 in 2024-25, and minus-18 after that. For a top-line center, those are ugly figures, because he’s been out there for a lot of goals against.
At the same time, Chicago’s team defense has been rough enough to muddy the picture. The Blackhawks allowed 3.29 goals per game, sixth-worst in the league, and gave up 198 five-on-five goals, the third-most in the NHL.
That’s where Davidson’s offseason comes in. If Bedard is going to move from promising centerpiece to true franchise-level force, the front office has to give him more help. The standard was clear: do what the San Jose Sharks did with Celebrini and add real difference-makers.
Davidson did make a couple of major swings, starting with a bold move to address the blue line. Chicago had the fourth-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft and could have stayed put for players such as Chase Reid, Alberts Smits, or Carson Carels.
Instead, Davidson sent the pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram. It was a striking decision, especially with Byram due for a new contract and his defensive numbers not exactly spotless.
Even so, it was the kind of aggressive bet Chicago needed to make, and it now sits as a $75 million gamble.
The other headline move was the one that lit up the fanbase: Patrick Kane is back. Chicago brought back its franchise icon after trading him to the New York Rangers in 2023, then watching him spend the last two seasons with the rival Detroit Red Wings. The catch is the price tag, with the Blackhawks committing $16 million over two years to Kane at this stage of his career.
Davidson has been charged with putting the right talent around Bedard, and Chicago is clearly betting that Byram and Kane can lift the young star’s game. That could show up most obviously on offense, where Bedard has already done plenty. He’s also clearly bought into the plan, given the five-year, $75 million extension the Blackhawks gave him.
Now it comes down to whether the offseason changes actually move the team forward. The Blackhawks want progress, Bedard wants a better support system, and Davidson’s latest moves have to make all of that line up.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Rebuild Suddenly Has A Real Breakthrough Path
The Blackhawks rebuild suddenly looks a little less theoretical because the pieces around Connor Bedard are starting to give the front office something more than hope. Patrick Kane is back in the mix, young forwards Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov are part of the longer-term picture, and the defense group has its own reasons to push after years of growing pains. Add in the possibility that Spencer Knight can stabilize the crease, and Chicago can at least sketch a path toward a season that feels more purposeful than the ones that came before it.
Bedard remains the obvious hinge, though, and his timeline still shapes everything about how quickly this can turn. The broader question is whether the Blackhawks can survive the opening stretch well enough to keep the season alive until their top talent is available, because the difference between another development year and a real breakthrough may come down to how much help they get from the rest of the roster before the face of the franchise is back on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Two Blackhawks Rookies Are Suddenly At The Center Of Calder Buzz
A little more than a year out from the 2026-27 NHL season, the Blackhawks already have two rookies drawing serious attention in Calder Trophy conversation. The Athletics Harman Dayal, Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman put forwards Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell among the top candidates, a sign of how much belief there is in both players as possible top-line and power-play contributors for Chicago.
For a rebuild still looking to turn promise into results, that kind of early buzz matters because it reflects both ceiling and opportunity. FanDuel Sportsbook has Frondell and Kantserov among the favorites as well, which only adds to the intrigue around how quickly they can translate prospect hype into NHL impact once the season arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Camp Puts One Roster Battle Front And Center
The Blackhawks are heading toward a shortened training camp, and the compressed schedule will put every decision under a brighter spotlight. With physicals likely to come on Sept. 16 and the first on-ice practice on Sept. 17, the team will have less time than usual to sort through the biggest questions on the roster, from the captaincy to Bowen Byrams role and contract situation.
One of the more intriguing battles will be up front, where added depth has made the margins thinner than they looked earlier in the summer. Andrew Mangiapane is among the players worth watching closely as the roster takes shape, and the clubs recent defense changes only add to the sense that camp will be about more than just getting back on the ice. It is also a chance to see whether the Blackhawks can back up their current NHL power-ranking buzz once the competition starts for real. [Read more 🡒]