Connor Bedard proves he’s committed to the Blackhawks, but it came with a price

The Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard interrupted regularly scheduled programming to announce the signing of a five-year deal worth $75 million on Saturday afternoon.

The news ends months of speculation. Most importantly, it brings certitude to the Blackhawks’ lineup for this upcoming season.

But there’s something more to the deal than just the business side of it. Bedard proved he’s a team player.

After what we saw with the Leo Carlsson offer sheet, the 21-year-old could have backed the Blackhawks into a corner. Carlsson set the bar -- well, the Philadelphia Flyers did -- and who would have argued with Bedard demanding a similar type of money?

Instead, Bedard took a lower payday to actually help the team. The “help” isn’t necessarily about this season. It’s about the seasons that follow. After this upcoming season, the Blackhawks will have to look into contracts for Ryan Green, Oliver Moore, Landon Slaggert, Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel, all of whom will be RFAs.

If Bedard had pushed the Blackhawks to $18 million AAV territory, the available cap hit could have significantly reduced the team’s ability to re-sign future RFAs. That, and the fact that the organization will be looking to UFAs to round out the roster as well.

That’s why Bedard deserves plenty of credit. While $15 million AAV isn’t exactly chump change, the deal was aimed at giving the team a chance to put together a winning roster.

Team says a lot about Bedard’s plans with Blackhawks

Now, there’s an interesting situation at play here. Bedard signed a five-year deal at age 21. As it stands, the deal will walk him straight into unrestricted free agency. Now, this doesn’t mean that the former number-one-overall pick is looking to skip town.

What it means is that he’s looking to keep his options open moving forward. That’s the sort of situation that this deal does. It gives the Blackhawks plenty of time to build around him, while also allowing him a shot at another massive payday when the cap is higher.

But there’s another thing to consider. The contract lacks any trade protection until the final year of the deal. That’s interesting because it effectively blocks the Blackhawks from trading Bedard should he choose not to re-sign in Chicago.

It’s a full no-trade clause. Likely, this is something the Bedard camp wanted to prevent the Blackhawks from unloading him without his consent. While no-trade clauses have practically become boilerplate demands in NHL contracts these days, it’s interesting to see that it only kicks in until the final year.

It signals that the Blackhawks have their days numbered. They won’t trade Bedard before the final year of his deal. And when that final year comes around, the club will have to be competitive.

Otherwise, they won’t be able to move Bedard easily should he choose not to re-sign. It will be an interesting 2030-31 season in Chicago, to say the least.

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