Connor Bedard is the Blackhawks’ next captain, and Chicago is handing the 21-year-old center the franchise’s most visible job after just three seasons.
The team announced Tuesday that Bedard is the 37th captain in Blackhawks history. It’s a move that had been building for a while, especially after the club traded Nick Foligno, its previous captain, to the Minnesota Wild at last season’s trade deadline. Bedard also locked in his long-term future this summer, signing a five-year, $75 million contract extension on July 20.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson praised the choice in a news release, saying, “Connor perfectly embodies what it means to be a Blackhawk,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said in a news release. “From the moment he entered the league, Connor has led by example and has set a remarkable standard for himself while demonstrating his ability to make the players around him better.
He has earned the respect of his teammates and the entire organization through the way he prepares, competes and conducts himself every single day, and there is no doubt that he is ready to take on this tremendous responsibility. We’re proud to have him lead this storied franchise and excited for him to shape the next chapter of Blackhawks hockey.”
Bedard has been the face of the organization in plenty of ways already, but now he officially carries the “C” after being drafted No. 1 in 2023. He’d been asked repeatedly since the end of last season what the role would mean to him, and he made clear in July that the honor would carry real weight.
“Just getting to play for the Blackhawks organization in general without any of that is the best thing in the world,” Bedard said in July. “If I was able to become a captain, or anyone to become a captain, if it’s someone else, I’d be just as happy for them.
If I was able to get that honor, it would be so special and something I know I wouldn’t take for granted for a second. But we have so many guys in the room who can lead.
If I was chosen for that, it would be unbelievable, for sure.”
The organization has gone this route before with a young player. Jonathan Toews became the Blackhawks’ youngest captain ever in 2008 at age 20, after only one NHL season. He held the role from the 2008-2009 season through the 2022-23 season.
Chicago left the captaincy vacant for the 2023-24 season in respect of Toews, then gave the job to Foligno for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons before his trade to Minnesota in March.
Bedard also stepped into a bigger leadership role last season, and coach Jeff Blashill named him an alternate captain late in the year.
For now, though, there’s a catch: Bedard may have to wait a bit before he wears the letter in a game. He had surgery in early July to repair his left shoulder after an injury in training in British Columbia, with an expected recovery time of about four months. That timeline points to a season debut closer to November, though he has been on the ice recently at the Blackhawks practice facility while continuing his rehab.
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The Blackhawks have officially handed the captaincy to Connor Bedard, a move that matches the direction of the franchise as much as the moment. Bedard now becomes the 37th captain in team history, stepping into the role after Nick Foligno was traded to the Minnesota Wild, and the choice comes with the kind of weight that has followed him since he arrived in Chicago.
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For a team already staring at a difficult opening stretch, that absence changes the tone of the first months of the season. Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Bowen Byram and Patrick Kane are among the names expected to carry more of the load in Bedards place, but the bigger question is how much damage the Blackhawks can avoid before their franchise centerpiece is back and ready to pick up the pieces. [Read more 🡒]