Frank Nazar’s next leap won’t be about proving he belongs anymore. That part is already settled. The real question is how far his game can climb in 2026-27 after a season that showed the ceiling, but never quite gave him the runway to fully hit it.
Last year was supposed to be the breakout. Nazar had just signed a seven-year contract extension, and 2025-26 looked lined up for a major jump. He still delivered a meaningful season, but injuries interrupted the momentum before he could turn it into something bigger.
Even with that stop-and-start year, Nazar remained one of the Blackhawks’ most important forwards. He brings speed, playmaking, penalty-kill value, power-play impact and center depth all in one package.
That’s why the injury stretch stung so much. A broken jaw cost him 14 games, and then he took another puck to the face in April.
The numbers were solid anyway. Nazar finished with 41 points in 66 games, third on the Blackhawks, and that total was 15 points better than what he posted in 2025-26. The production climbed, even if the season never fully opened up.
Like Justin Lynch noted, Nazar’s offense has come in waves. That’s part of the profile with a young player still piecing together the whole package. But teammates see more than the stat line.
Connor Bedard put it this way after Nazar’s multi-point game in March: “Yeah, I mean, even games he wasn't getting points, he was playing great. I think he was a little snake-bitten, for sure.
And he's so important to our team, and such a great player, and obviously nice to see him be getting rewarded, and he's gonna keep doing that. He's someone that's always around it- always around the net and making plays.
So, he's fun to watch and means so much to our group.”
That March stretch was Nazar at his best. He piled up 14 points in 16 games, and that run is the kind of burst the Blackhawks want to see more consistently.
Jeff Blashill sees the path clearly. For him, it starts with Nazar’s skating.
“I think when Frank plays his best, he's skating, and that, to me, is his superpower, so to speak. And so I think he's done a better job of attacking the game using his speed, as opposed to maybe trying to kind of slow it down and go through people. I think he's way better when he's going around people.
"He's just such a dangerous player. And that starts probably in our breakouts, kind of getting into pockets low, where then once he gets the puck, he can attack.
And sometimes when you're pressing, you get too high because you want to take off, and you take off too early. So I just think his timing has been better.
All that goes with confidence. Like, again, he's in his second... this is his first full year, right?
So, it's part of the confidence that you kind of grow and learn from.”
There’s also the positional flexibility that keeps Nazar valuable. Like Oliver Moore, he has the center-or-wing conversation hanging around him.
Nazar said at exit interviews that he played wing up until his draft year, but his view of the job is simple: “I play center, play wing, any spot. I feel comfortable wherever up and down the lineup.
I just want to do my best to help the team win.”
For now, center seems like the likeliest home, and that versatility only adds to his usefulness.
Another piece Blashill brought up is confidence, and Nazar himself pointed to something else: being more settled. At exit interviews, he explained how different this past season felt.
“Yeah, for sure. I'd say that, last year, I mean, I was basically in the hotel the whole year.
Like, I wasn't too worried about going up or down, but, you know, you get called up, and you don't really know what management's thinking, you're trying to impress, stay up, kind of stuff like that. But maybe a little bit more scared to make mistakes.
But this year, I felt really free to kind of be myself, play my game, do what I can do. Like, obviously, yeah, I made mistakes, but trying to learn from those, and hopefully be more mature going forward.
But... yeah, play free. That's it.”
That comfort matters, especially with the responsibility that’s coming. Nazar will be leaned on heavily, including in the top six and with Bedard out to start the season.
But that’s not unfamiliar territory for him anymore. He’s had the minutes, the pressure and the learning curve.
The feeling around Nazar isn’t whether he’ll break out. It’s when. If he keeps playing free and starts matching that production with real consistency, 2026-27 could be the year everything clicks.
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