In the wake of Leo Carlsson’s mega $90-million contract, some in NHL circles expected Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard to quickly eclipse the newfound salary benchmark.
Bedard, however, said Carlsson’s record-setting $18-million AAV — signed as an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers but matched by the Anaheim Ducks — was not a factor in his own negotiations.
The 2023 No. 1 pick signed a five-year, $75 million contract to stick with the Blackhawks on Saturday.
“I’m very happy with the amount of money I’m making. It’s a lot. The offer sheet’s different as well with a team trying to take a guy. It’s going to be a different value. But for me, that didn’t change anything I was thinking,” Bedard said on Monday.
“Chicago is really the only place I want to play, and just seeing the growth of the young guys, and just how good of a group we are, how tight it is, how much fun we have. I’m very happy to get this deal signed and focus on the team and excited to get back and get going.”
Bedard, who turned 21 on Friday, will have to wait a little longer than anticipated to make that return to the ice as he recovers from an off-season training shoulder injury that is expected to sideline him into the beginning of the season.
The centre got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players in western Canada, where he said he plans to spend the rest of his summer.
“Feeling good, day by day,” Bedard said. “All I can do is everything in my power to get it right as quick as possible, and whether that’s quicker than four months, there’s obviously that timeline right now, but I’m going to do everything I can to be back as soon as possible. But at the end of the day you gotta be safe and you gotta feel comfortable with it.”
When he does return, Bedard will link up with a cast of new teammates including defencemen Bowen Byram and Ian Cole along with forwards Cole Smith and Roman Kantserov.
“We want to take a big step this year. We want to be a playoff team and that’s our only goal,” Bedard said.
Bedard said he hopes the reunion would come to fruition.
“Obviously we’d all be so excited to have a player like that but also a guy like that. I can’t imagine his first game back at the (United Center), the reaction he’d get and just how much juice that would bring to not only the team but the fans as well,” he said.
“That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him. Hopefully he decides to come back and you talk about the legacy aspect of it, but just as a team, it’d make us a way better team, he’s still an amazing player.”
Bedard has been the centrepiece of the Blackhawks since he was drafted. He made his anticipated NHL debut that October and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.
He had 23 goals and 44 assists while appearing in all 82 games in his second season. He continued his steady improvement this year, setting career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games.
–with files from The Associated Press