The Chicago Blackhawks have been mired in a rebuild throughout the Connor Bedard era under general manager Kyle Davidson. It has been a long time since the Original Six franchise has tasted postseason hockey, having last made the playoffs in the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
With Davidson receiving a contract extension upon conclusion of this 25-26 campaign, the stakes have been raised with regards to expectations in Chicago. Next season will be year four of Bedard; now is the time for management to become more aggressive and accelerate the rebuild.
It appears Davidson has gotten the memo. Via Analyst David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period: “I think they’re gonna look at bringing in two impact wingers for this team, one that plays with Connor Bedard, one that plays with Anton Frondell.”
Bedard Needs More Support
For far too long Bedard has been stuck on an island in Chicago as he has been thrust with carrying the offensive attack with very little help around him. This has started to shift recently as more and more of Davidson’s draft picks have made their way to the team, such as Frondell and Frank Nazar. This has given Bedard more options to work with up front.
But accension for the Blackhawks into becoming a playoff contender once again is unlikely to happen solely through building in the draft. Chicago needs to make a splash this summer if they want to make that great leap forward in the standings next season after years of baby steps.
The question is where does Davidson turn to when it comes to acquiring this talent to beef up the wings for Bedard and company? Various big name players have been connected to a potential Chicago move. Matthew Knies, Jason Robertson and Alex Tuch are some of the most notable names that have been linked to the Blackhawks by insiders this past year.
Playoffs May Not be a Pipe Dream for Chicago Next Season
This is an important offseason for Davidson and the Blackhawks. They want to make this team better for next season, but also doing so in a way that does not sacrifice the long term future of this club that has been carefully constructed these past five years of the Davidson reign. Beyond the task of upgrading the roster through the draft and free agency/trades, they have some crucial in house extensions to take care of. The big one is the Bedard deal with the franchise forward set to receive quite a payday soon.
If Davidson can have himself a legacy offseason this summer, it is not out of the realm of possibility to expect this Blackhawks team to make a playoff push next year. They have the cap space, draft capital and assets in the organizational prospect pipeline to be active this summer when it comes to improving the roster and surrounding Bedard with that elite talent around him he has been missing.
Bedard has already been a dangerous player in the NHL without a strong supporting cast around him. The thought of what he could do with star linemates around him is scary. That could be what puts this team over the edge when it comes to getting out of this rebuild and back into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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