The asking price for Connor Bedard is now known, and the Chicago Blackhawks are going to have to pay up if they want to ink him long-term.
Bedard was the No. 1 overall pick by the Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He is just 20 years old, and he has played in 219 games, scoring 75 goals and 203 points.
This last season was his best yet, as the North Vancouver, British Columbia, native scored 30 goals and 75 points in 69 games.
After this past season concluded, Bedard’s entry-level contract (ELC) ended, so he is now a restricted free agent (RFA) eligible to be offered sheeted. But the Blackhawks are going to try to keep him long-term, though it’s going to cost them a pretty penny if they want to ink him for the long haul.
Connor Bedard’s Asking Price Revealed
According to NHL insider David Pagnotta, Bedard is looking for a long-term deal that approaches what Kirill Kaprizov inked with the Minnesota Wild last year, which was for eight years and $136 million for an annual average value (AAV) of $17 million per year, which makes Kaprizov the highest-paid player in the NHL right now.
Per Pagnotta, league sources are saying that Bedard is hoping to match that contract or even eclipse it.
“As @JeffMarek , @tyleryaremchuk & I discussed earlier today in our free agency show, the early chatter around the Blackhawks & Connor Bedard contract talks is Bedard may be looking for Kaprizov money on a full-term contract. Very early, but worth noting. Big money, no whammies!” Pagnotta wrote on X.
Will the Blackhawks Pay Up?
The big question now that we know what Bedard is looking for is, will the Blackhawks pay up?
The Blackhawks have nearly $30 million in cap space for this season, so money is no issue for their team, even after they just gave newly acquired defenseman Bowen Byram the bag, inking him to a six-year, $75 million contract with an AAV of $12.5 million next year.
Even with Byram’s huge contract kicking in next season, the NHL salary cap is going up, so the team should have no problem giving Bedard whatever contract is necessary to keep him in the fold.
While Bedard has not proven that he should be paid $17 million per season, the Blackhawks will not want him to leave the city after they drafted him, as he is their franchise player and someone they are counting on for the team to return to title contention once again now that they are exiting their rebuilding stage.
Even if the Blackhawks don’t necessarily feel that Bedard is worth the kind of money that Kaprizov makes, another team might, and they could sign him to an offer sheet and pay up. That would require whatever team signs him to give up four first-round picks as compensation, which is unlikely to happen. But it’s still not out of the realm of possibility.
In the end, look for the Blackhawks to get the deal done and make sure their man is given the long-term deal that he desires.
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