The criticism of Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard continues to be pointless

Connor Bedard is not perfect, then again, the recent criticism of his game has gotten out of hand.

Mark Messier's recent tirade on Bedard's play has now raised the level of criticism surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks superstar to pointless.

As the Athletic's Mark Lazerus accurately pointed out, Messier never had to deal with being on a terrible roster so early in his Hall of Fame career.

Maybe going after Bedard like he did was a bridge too far given that Messier had things easy when he broke into the NHL.

Suggesting that Bedard has not earned his ice time because he did not challenge Sam Reinhart (subscription required to access content linked) hard enough is Messier acting like the cranky man screaming at kids to get off his lawn.

“The excuses for a young player are over now,” Messier said. “He has to be better than that. Sure enough, they get a power play and who goes right on the ice? Bedard. There’s no quicker way to destroy the morale of a team than to have players that don’t earn their ice time — and when a player makes a conscious choice to be soft on the puck. In that situation right there, there has to be consequences and if there aren’t, it’ll destroy the morale of the team.”

Bedard could have gone for the puck better, but if Messier thinks he should be sitting for being soft on the puck then Mark should hold the entire Hawks' blue line to the same standard.

A major problem for the Hawks this season has been taking away the prime scoring spot on the ice right in front of the net. Teams are easily setting up screeners there or allowing skaters to flow quickly through right before dropping the puck in the net.

Everyone on the Hawks knows Bedard is the best player the team has. They also know he is not perfect.

It is doubtful the entire locker room would take notice if Bedard was benched for a crucial mistake that many of his teammates have made.

It is one thing to think Macklin Celebrini might be better than Bedard. It is also fine to wonder if Bedard is better suited on the wing than center.

Old-school guys like Messier or Jeremy Roenick throwing shade at Bedard without really looking into any context are just two Hall of Famers thinking they can level criticism because of their reputation.

All it makes them look like is jealous and trying to knock a young star down a peg.

Plus, one of the reasons Bedard suffered an early-season regression was he was being asked to focus more on the defensive side of his game. His offensive game suffered, and so did the entire Hawks' offense. Now that Bedard has been asked to focus his time on scoring goals and passing out assists, the Hawks offensive production has gotten better.

Bedard still has plenty of areas to work on in his game. He is not beyond criticism. However, when it reaches the level of what Messier said, then it should be considered pointless.