Blackhawks' Connor Bedard will have no problem reaching 100 career goals this season

The 2026-27 season is almost upon us, and the Chicago Blackhawks are hoping to take the next step in their path to contention. They’ve gone out and acquired some new faces that should help with this; Bowen Byram, Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov to name a few. There’s a lot of excitement in Chicago.

But let’s face it; the success of the Blackhawks starts and ends with franchise cornerstone Connor Bedard. Unfortunately, Bedard is slated to be out until early November due to offseason shoulder surgery. But that doesn’t mean Bedard can’t still have a very successful season once he returns.    

Bedard is 25 tallies away from 100 career goals

We’re wrapping up records, milestones and awards week here at Blackhawk Up, and one milestone that can’t be ignored is Bedard reaching 100 career goals. He currently sits at 75 goals, meaning he’s just 25 tallies short of 100. This should be easily attainable. But for some perspective, let’s look at Bedard’s production from his first three seasons.

In his 2023-24 rookie season, Bedard netted 22 goals. Granted, he also missed 14 games with a broken jaw. Hopes were high for a more productive sophomore campaign. But the young center only managed 23 goals, despite playing in all 82 games in the 2024-25 campaign. I would argue Bedard was working hard on his all-around game, so he sacrificed some production in the process. He also didn’t have a whole lot of other high-end talent surrounding him.

In his third NHL campaign, many things came together for Bedard. He notched a career-high 30 goals and 75 points. This was even with the 20-year-old missing 13 games due to a shoulder injury.  Many would argue he still didn’t have the best talent around him. But Bedard and rookie Ryan Greene found some decent chemistry that worked well for them. Veteran Andre Burakovsky, Bedard’s other most frequent linemate, had a horrific second half to the 2025-26 season that eventually got him moved to the Ottawa Senators. However, Bedard and Burakovsky clicked together at the beginning of the season.

Interestingly, of Bedard’s 30 goals, only seven were scored on the power play. I would expect that to change this season. All in all, it was an impressive campaign for Bedard, showing loads of potential for the future.

Better players around Bedard should boost his production

This season, Bedard will have more players around him who should elevate him and the rest of the team. Top Russian prospect Kantsersov signed his entry-level contract in May of 2026. As top-goal scorer in the KHL last season, hopes are high this will translate to the NHL level.

The Blackhawks also agreed to terms with Kane, bringing the three-time Stanley Cup winner back to Chicago. The 37-year-old isn’t in his prime anymore, but he could arguably be the most talented and like-minded player Bedard has ever played with.

19-year-old Anton Frondell suited up for just 12 games at the end of last season, but boy did he look impressive! This power forward is just getting started on what should be an remarkable NHL career.

We should also mention defenseman Byram entering the fold. The 25-year-old will add an offensive element from the back end that should be super helpful to the forwards, and the team as a whole.

These new additions, along with Bedard, Frank Nazar and another relative newcomer in Nick Lardis, will give a whole different look to the top-six forwards. It should boost the power play as well. The Blackhawk’s power play finished 29th in the league last season with just a 16.9% success rate. With all these new weapons, including Bedard, I would expect that percentage to go up.

Even with Bedard out for the beginning of the season, I would expect him to have no problem accumulating 25 goals to get to the 100 mark for his career. Perhaps more realistically, we should be asking if the 21-year-old will reach 35 goals this season.

How many assists will he rack up? Could he possibly reach 100 points, which is 25 more points than he recorded last season (75)? The sky is the limit. This campaign should be another step towards a very successful career, with many franchise records broken.

Bedard is a team-first player, and he’ll be the first to tell you he doesn’t care how many times he scores, as long as the team wins. But you can bet he’s got some goals (pun intended) in mind! I’m sure reaching 100-career goals is one of them.

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