The Leo Carlsson offer sheet has put the Blackhawks on alert, and the message in Chicago is hard to miss: this could be only the beginning.
A five-year, $18 million offer sheet for the Swedish forward is the kind of move the entire NHL has been bracing for, and the chatter around it has only sharpened the focus on who might be next. Two names sit at the center of that conversation: Jason Robertson and Connor Bedard.
That’s where the real pressure lands for the Blackhawks. If another team decides to make a run at Bedard, Chicago’s cleanest defense is simple - get him signed first. The urgency is real now, because the longer this drags on, the more room there is for another club to make a move.
The warning signs were already there when the Barrett Hayton offer sheet from the New Jersey Devils served as the opening salvo. This feels like the next step, the moment when a league-wide concern turns into a direct threat.
If the worst-case scenario does arrive and Bedard is offer-sheeted, the Blackhawks would face a straightforward choice: match the deal or let him go. That would be a brutal outcome on the surface, especially given what Bedard means as the 2023 first-overall pick.
But the financial side of it changes the picture. If another team is willing to put $18 million, or more, on the table for Bedard, Chicago would have to decide whether he is worth paying Leo Carlsson money. The optics of losing him would be ugly, but the organization would still be in a position to absorb the hit.
The Blackhawks have depth, and if they didn’t have to commit that money to Bedard, those savings could be redirected back into the roster as they look for another center. Losing Bedard would sting and would slow the rebuild, but it would not be the end of the world.
What it would do is shift the burden to the other team. If Bedard walks, the club that signs him would be the one taking on the massive extension, not Chicago.
That’s the reality the Blackhawks are staring at now. Fans won’t like the idea of Bedard being the next name in the offer-sheet conversation, but Kyle Davidson can’t let another organization set the terms of how Chicago handles its contracts.
For now, everyone in Chicago is left waiting to see whether Bedard is really next.
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Kyle Davidson has already pointed to that area as a priority in free agency, which is why the additions of Cole Smith and Ian Cole matter beyond simple depth moves. Chicago is clearly trying to protect a unit that had been among the leagues best before the late-season slide, and the bigger question now is whether those new faces can help restore the sort of reliability the Blackhawks were counting on. [Read more 🡒]
Former Blackhawks Names Are Still Waiting On Their Next Move
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For Chicago fans, the list is a reminder of how much turnover has already passed through the organization and how many former pieces are now waiting for their next landing spot. Kane remains the biggest name of the group, while the others bring more specialized value, but for now none of them has a new contract in hand, leaving their next move as one of the quieter storylines still hanging around the league. [Read more 🡒]
Leo Carlsson Just Raised The Stakes For Connor Bedard And Kyle Davidson
The ripple effect from Philadelphias aggressive move on Leo Carlsson is reaching well beyond Anaheim, and Chicago has a clear reason to pay attention. Any deal that resets the market for a young star at the top of the sport inevitably becomes part of the backdrop for Connor Bedards next contract, especially for a front office trying to map out how much room it wants to preserve as its rebuild moves into the next phase.
For Kyle Davidson, the timing matters almost as much as the number. The Blackhawks still have ample cap flexibility and Bedard is the main summer priority left on the board, but a rising market for elite young centers can quickly change the conversation. And once Bedards number is set, it could shape the rest of Chicagos planning for the core pieces coming behind him, from Anton Frondell to Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel. [Read more 🡒]