Bleacher Report mixed on Blackhawks' long-term contract decisions

The 2026-27 NHL offseason had a little bit of everything. It had wild moments: see Leo Carlsson's offer sheet drama. Some quiet moments: Are you okay, Vegas Golden Knights? And some potential head-scratching moments, like when the Chicago Blackhawks traded for Bowen Byram and then made him the team's highest-paid player for a month on a long-term extension.

Bleacher Report writer Adam Gertz recently graded the NHL’s 34 long-term deals signed this offseason, including Bowen’s six-year deal and Connor Bedard’s five-year extension. Interestingly, he is conflicted on both deals, praising Bedard’s deal while raising important questions about whether Byram’s deal will work out. Today, we will dissect Gertz’s grades and see whether they are justified or not.

Blackhawks Received C+ Grade for Byram Deal

When news broke that the Blackhawks traded for Byram and then extended him to a six-year, $75 million deal, the move turned heads across the league. At a $12.5 million AAV, Byram will soon carry a higher annual salary than legends like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane ever did, since they capped out at $10 million. Of course, today’s salary cap ceiling is a lot higher than it was a decade ago, when they signed their deals, so salary increases are only a natural part of it.

However, is Byram, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, really a $75 million investment?

At just 25, he was the fourth overall pick in the 2019 Draft, and within a year, he’d make his debut with the Avalanche. For his first three seasons, Byram had a limited role with the club, but during the 2022 Stanley Cup run, he led the NHL playoffs with a plus-15 rating. That earned him a bigger role in 2022-23, when he played 42 games, and 55 the following year, when he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres.

Byram enjoyed the best season of his career in Buffalo last year, setting a new career high in points while helping the Sabres win the Atlantic Division and reach the Eastern Conference Final. Now he'll try to replicate that success with a rebuilding Blackhawks team. However, with his salary, Byram will face expectations unlike any other point in his professional career, and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

Overall, what Byram accomplishes over the next seven seasons in Chicago will determine whether this investment was justified, so the C+ is accurate in the sense that no one knows what will come out of the deal until it’s over.

Bedard’s Highly-Anticipated Extension Earns B+

When the San Jose Sharks signed Macklin Celebrini to the largest deal in NHL history, once again, for a month, until Cale Makar’s monster extension, all eyes turned to the Blackhawks, who needed to extend cornerstone Bedard. Although the 21-year-old has yet to reach 100 points in the regular season, he is right around a point per game, and Chicago is much better with him in the lineup than without.

Unfortunately, injuries have prevented Bedard from reaching his true potential in the league. Moreover, the supporting cast around him is also young and finding its groove. That’s one reason why the Blackhawks continue to hang out at the bottom of the standings, but in no time could be a playoff contender and a threat to win it all.

When Chicago announced that Bedard signed for five years at $75 million, his AAV will be $15 million, the highest ever in team history. If he returns from shoulder surgery and goes on a tear and continues to score over 100 points a season for the next five years going into his prime, this contract could quickly become one of the NHL's best bargains.

As the face of the franchise, the B+ grade feels lower than it should, but there are concerns regarding Bedard’s ability to stay healthy over the next five seasons, which is a fair question to ask. However, as pointed out, if Bedard proves the doubters wrong, he’ll look for a bigger payday in 2031.

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