What is the Connor Bedard contract going to look like?

Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard enjoyed his best season in the NHL this past year. He had a breakout campaign, amassing career-best totals across the board with 30 goals and 75 points. And he did all that despite missing 13 games due to injury.

One of the biggest topics of the offseason for General Manager Kyle Davidson is the upcoming Bedard contract extension. Connor made a smart decision not to resign last summer; he has positioned himself to earn considerably more money after a much stronger year than his sophomore season.

What could Connor Bedard's new deal look like?

For all the outside speculation in regards to Bedard's future in Chicago, both he and Davidson have expressed similar sentiments about their being no concern in getting this contract done.

Many factors work in Bedard and his agent's favor when it comes to contract negotiations. For one, his position as this team's franchise player since he was taken first overall in the 2023 draft. Bedard is the main star at the forefront of the squad Davidson has been building. He is most likely the future captain of the Blackhawks.

The NHL salary cap is also rising, so the Blackhawks will have no issues when it comes to having the space available to give the Bedard camp what they want and to work with in cap room this summer, according to PuckPedia.

Davidson has already gotten steals when it comes to recent extensions with the future core players of this team. Alex Vlasic's $4.6 million AAV deal, Frank Nazar's $6.6 million AAV deal, and Spencer Knight's $5.8 million AAV deal are all examples of great value deals that he has gotten done.

But if there is one player Davidson is unlikely to stress over getting the best value, it is this one. Bedard is the organizational centerpiece; you want to make him happy. He is probably going to give him what he wants within reason.

So, what could the Bedard contract come in at? There are a few comparable contracts around the league that could give us an idea of where to ballpark it.

One of those contracts is the Logan Cooley deal signed by the Utah Mammoth last year. Cooley received a long-term, eight-year, $10 million extension after a year two that emulated Bedard's production last season. This is likely the minimum bar for the range of Bedard's contract, with Bedard choosing to wait a year and producing at a much higher rate in 25-26.

Another contract on the higher end to look at is the deal Auston Matthews signed with Toronto in 2019. Unlike Cooley, this was a shorter-term deal, coming in at five years and $11.6 million. Matthews' year three totals were very similar to Bedard's, with 37 goals and 73 points in 68 games. Now, keep in mind that this contract would be considerably richer if signed today, given how the cap has risen in recent seasons.

It will be very curious to see what route Bedard and his camp decide to take with this deal. Does Bedard take a bit of a pay cut, as many Canadian legends such as Sidney Crosby have done before him, and give Davidson more options to work with when it comes to bringing in that talent around him that he has been waiting for? Or does he cash in to the max after all the struggles he has had to persevere throughout his entry-level contract on basement-dwelling Chicago teams?

A rough estimate of Bedard's contract in terms of his market value is that he rakes in somewhere between $13-14 million per year. The term of that contract is another question altogether; does Bedard take a shorter deal that lines him up for a pay raise down the line with the cap continuing to rise? Or does he sign for the full eight years, quelling any doubts around his future with Chicago?

All these questions will have to wait to be answered until the deal is done. Davidson will want to get this completed sooner rather than later, so it doesn't hang over the group's head all offseason.

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