Connor Bedard’s shoulder injury may still be waiting on an update, but his contract picture just got a lot more interesting.
On Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said he didn’t have anything new on the injury Bedard suffered last Thursday during offseason training in Vancouver. What he did address was the 20-year-old’s next deal, and the timing around it.
Bedard remains unsigned as a restricted free agent this summer, though there’s no sign the Blackhawks and their franchise center are headed for any real trouble. Negotiations have reportedly gained momentum in recent weeks, and Bedard has repeatedly made it clear he wants to stay in Chicago. General manager Kyle Davidson, for his part, has also been steadfast about doing whatever it takes to keep him there.
Still, Friedman pointed to the one thing that can change the mood fast: an offer sheet.
“If I ran the Chicago Blackhawks, I would have been at the Bedard household on Saturday morning. I would have said, A, how’s your shoulder? And B, do we have to worry about an offer sheet here at all?”
That concern comes after Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, another restricted free agent, signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Until Bedard puts pen to paper, he’s eligible for the same kind of move from another team.
Friedman said he has no indication that Bedard is angling for an offer sheet elsewhere, or that the Blackhawks should be bracing for one in the immediate future. Even so, he made it clear he wouldn’t sit around and wait.
“Now, I don’t know that the Blackhawks have any reason to be concerned here. And I think, generally, the player and team have an excellent relationship.
I think he’s very happy to be a member of that organization. I just personally wouldn’t chance anything anymore… If I’m the Blackhawks, I’m all over it.”
Carlsson’s deal has also changed the money conversation around Bedard in a big way.
Before Friday, the expectation was that Bedard, Carlsson and Columbus Blue Jackets RFA forward Adam Fantilli - the top three picks in the 2023 NHL Draft - were all waiting to see who would sign first and establish the market. San Jose Sharks 2024 top overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who became extension-eligible on July 1 as an RFA next summer, was also expected to be watching closely.
Now Carlsson has gone first, and he did it in stunning fashion. His $18 million cap hit makes him the highest-paid player in the NHL next season, and that number is going to echo through every conversation involving the league’s young stars.
For Bedard, the earlier range on his next contract had been pegged between $12 million and $16 million, depending on whether the Blackhawks go short-term or long-term. That ceiling may not hold anymore. Carlsson’s new deal gives Bedard’s side a fresh argument that he belongs a few million higher.
The comparison is not exact, but it matters. Carlsson, the second overall pick in 2023, has 61 goals and 80 assists for 141 points in 201 NHL games. He’s coming off a career-best 67 points in 70 games in 2025-26 and looks like a rising two-way force.
Bedard’s résumé is stronger. In 219 career games, he has 75 goals and 128 assists for 203 points, and he has done much of that while skating with less talent around him. He also reached the 30-goal mark and the 70-point mark for the first time in 2025-26, something Carlsson has not yet done.
There’s another layer here, too. Bedard has handled the losing in Chicago over the last three years with remarkable poise for someone his age. He has said and done all the right things while living under a spotlight that never seems to dim, and his commitment to the Blackhawks’ rebuild has never wavered.
Put it all together, and the case for Bedard asking for an $18 million cap hit or more is easy to see now. That would complicate things for Davidson, but the Blackhawks no longer have much room to breathe if they want to stay fully in control of the situation.
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