The Blackhawks completed their first of four re-signings of restricted free agents Monday.
Prospect goalie Drew Commesso agreed to a two-year contract that carries an $875,000 salary-cap hit. That leaves Connor Bedard, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro as the Hawks’ remaining RFAs.
Commesso, who turns 24 later this month, has delivered three consecutive solid seasons in the AHL, although his save percentage declined slightly to .901 over 37 appearances with Rockford this past season.
However, he also earned his first NHL win with a heroic 36-save shutout over the Predators in January, which marked the first time many around the league heard of him. He then picked up another NHL win in spot duty in March, stopping 23 of 25 shots against the Mammoth.
Commesso would have to convincingly outplay incumbent backup goalie Arvid Soderblom in training camp to start this season in the NHL, although Soderblom might not have the highest job security coming off a season in which he posted a poor .880 save percentage.
Soderblom’s contract is set to expire in 2027, and Commesso’s new contract structure suggests the Hawks might expect him to take over the NHL backup job at that time.
Commesso’s contract is two-way for 2026-27 — meaning he receives different NHL and AHL salaries — but it becomes one-way in 2027-28, paying him the same salary no matter where he’s playing.
Bedard remains by far the Hawks’ highest-profile RFA, and there haven’t been any updates in the last few days regarding either his contract negotiations or the apparent shoulder injury he suffered last week.
