What’s standing between Connor Bedard and Bobby Hull’s legendary 58-goal season?

Yeah, it's gonna be a while before Connor Bedard or anyone on the Chicago Blackhawks would even have a realistic shot to come close to Bobby Hull's 58-goal season. A record that's been around since the 1968-69 campaign. Or, really, any record that Hull holds.

So, what's the blueprint for this to have even a remote chance at happening. And I say remote, because 46 was the closest Patrick Kane got during the dynasty years back in 2015-16. So, yeah, that alone shows what kind of work Bedard and the Hawks have cut out for them.

But, since we're talking about records this week, why not get speculative here and lay out that blueprint? For one, before anything else, Bedard needs to get more consistent scoring goals, after putting up 22 and 23 in his first two seasons, respectively.

Connor Bedard needs consistency and an awesome team around him to set a single-season record

The upside is that Bedard started figuring things out after struggling through a cold streak in 2024-25. He pushed through a 12-game streak without scoring, but put up 20 in the remaining 61 contests, with 11 on the man advantage.

Now, that latter number is one you can look at with optimism. 11 power play goals in 61 contests, meaning he'll be the go-to when he's on the ice while the Hawks are playing 5-on-4 hockey, and we should see that number increase as the team improves.

But, the 5-on-5 game will be the make-or-break moment for Bedard, and he'll need a better supporting cast than what he's had over his first two seasons. That will come in time, with the Hawks looking like they're taking the longer view, and ultimately, the right one.

When might Connor Bedard have a realistic chance to break Bobby Hull's single-season record?

This is where patience kicks in, and the Hawks would need to put a team together capable of coming close to the group we saw during the dynasty years, so something reminiscent of the 2009-10 to the 2014-15 squads. But even those slightly before the Cup-winning glory days or even slightly thereafter would also work.

And again, this is a realistic shot, and it's by no means implying Bedard will ever break the record. I mean, if Kane couldn't do it, Bedard has a tough mountain to climb. That said, I could see him breaking into the top 10 if he's playing for teams even close to the ones Kane had.

We'll see if general manager Kyle Davidson shows that he's capable of putting a special group around Bedard and put him in position to chase a few single-season records. The next few seasons will tell us a lot.

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