Through the first three years of his NHL career, Connor Bedard hasn’t even sniffed the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Instead, all three seasons have seen the Hawks finish 31st in the league standings, with more focus on where they’ll position themselves in the draft lottery when all is said and done.
That’s been the plan as Chicago rebuilds, but at some point things need to start trending upward, and Bedard appears to especially be feeling that. In a recent interview, the superstar center was asked whether he’s been watching the postseason, to which he replied not all that much and admitted it bothers him not to be playing in it.
“I think the whole playoffs, honestly, I haven’t really watched a crazy amount. It kind of p***** me off. I think just, obviously, how intense the games are, but also kind of, you just got to get in… You see some teams that won a series where they probably shouldn’t have, and uh, it’s about getting in and anything, anything can really happen,”
The 20-year-old Bedard is currently an RFA having played out the third and final year of the three-year, $2.85 million entry-level contract he signed with the Blackhawks in 2023. He registered a career-high 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in just 69 games this past season.
Bedard’s comments are more than fair and very understandable for such a competitor. After a while, all you want is a taste of playoff hockey, and the longer you go without it, the more that itch is going to grow.
It makes for an interesting upcoming contract negotiation and a very important next few years in Chicago, because although Bedard will only turn 21 in July, if the Blackhawks don’t show signs of turning the corner sooner rather than later, buzz will begin to build around his long-term future with the team.
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