Why does Andre Burakovsky get a free ride on Bedard's wing?

The 2025-2026 season has been a tale of two halves for Blackhawks forward Andre Burakovsky. The first half of his 2025 campaign was strong for the Swedish forward, as he found chemistry with Connor Bedard on the top line. However, the second half of 2026 has not gone at all according to plan, as the 31-year-old veteran has struggled offensively.

Despite his consistent struggles, Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill continues to play Burakovsky on the first line with Bedard. With just two points in his last 22 games, this is extremely peculiar and begs the question of what more needs to occur for Blashill to make a change here.

Blashill has limited options to work with

The argument in Burakovsky's favor could be that this 2026 Blackhawks group is thin in the forward core, leaving Blashill with little to work with when it comes to surrounding Bedard with talent. You have to play someone up there, and Burakovsky is one of the few new additions to what was mostly an unchanged group over the summer.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson brought "Burky" on board this past offseason in a trade with the Seattle Kraken that saw Chicago exchange Joe Veleno in return. Davidson hoped that Burakovsky would rediscover his game with a needed change of scenery after a turbulent last couple of seasons in Seattle.

And to be fair, the results were positive at first. Burakovsky amassed 10 goals and 19 assists through the first 38 games of the season as he got a boost playing with a red-hot Bedard from the onset of the year. This was a nice development for Connor as well, as it appeared he had finally found a stable linemate after a 24-25 season that saw him play with, effectively, the entire team on his wing at some point.

But since Jan. 9, Burakovsky's offense has dried up, as he has scored just one goal in two months, coming in last Monday's win against the Utah Mammoth. Now that Andre has long since cooled off, one would think it was time to explore alternative options on line one. The question is, who would that player be?

Why does Blashill not try Tyler Bertuzzi up front? He has enjoyed a dynamic connection with Bedard this season, particularly on the power play, where Bedard has fed him many of his goals on the back door. How about Nick Lardis? It would be stronger for the rookie's development to get more looks playing with a star like Bedard than to be deployed in limited minutes in a fourth-line checking role.

Plus, there is always the nuclear option of Frank Nazar. Bedard and Nazar have developed a great relationship together on and off the ice. While it is understandable that Blashill would want to split them up in order to generate a more balanced attack, there is little for this team to lose at this point, sitting 30th in the standings towards the end of the season. Why not play "Bedzar" together and have some fun to conclude the year?

Bottom line, it is clear Burakovsky is not working up top at the moment, and a change is needed. The dilemma that arises then is where else to deploy him in the lineup. The bottom six roles are generally designated for more defensively responsible players. Unfortunately, Burakovsky's defensive game is not among his strong points. He is a skill player, which is why he tends to play in the top six.

The problem with moving him to the second line is that he now has to try to make it work with Nazar, assuming the coaching staff wants to keep him at 2C. Frank's play has seen a drastic improvement of late, with eight points in his last six games. Throwing an offensively starved Burakovsky on his wing could halt that progress. Whereas Bedard is such an elite player, he can play with virtually anyone and still find a way to get on the board.

It appears there is no obvious answer as to what to do with Burakovsky at the moment. There is always the last resort of healthy scratching him to send a message that could get him going. With that said, it is hard to imagine Blashill going down this route; you don't want to have to place a $5.5 million vet in the press box.

With one year left on his contract, Chicago appears to be stuck with him for now. It is hard to visualize a timeline in which teams are ringing up Davidson on the regular to inquire about Burakovsky's services this upcoming offseason, given that the contract makes him hard to move. So, this could be a problem that persists into next season as well.

Hopefully, Burakovsky can figure it out and end the year strong. He is clearly a well-liked guy in the locker room. Bedard and co have spoken highly of him. It would be nice to see him get back to the player he was at the start of the year. We'll see how he responds to this adversity.