Copyright Athlon Sports
Connor Bedard’s strong start to his third NHL season has drawn most of the attention during the first few weeks of play, but the talk about his next contract with the Chicago Blackhawks will inevitably ramp up soon. The 20-year-old center has posted 18 points through 14 games this season, and while his rookie-level deal runs through July 2026, the Blackhawks and Bedard’s camp have not held any meaningful contract talks in recent weeks. According to Frank Seravalli, answering a fan question about whether or not Blackhawks fans should start to worry about the lack of progress for a contract extension during Monday’s “Insider Notebook”, there is no reason for concern. “First off — no, not concerning,” Seravalli said. “Were Toronto Maple Leaf fans concerned when Auston Matthews signed a five-year deal out of the shoot of his entry-level deal? No.” Back in 2019, after completing his own entre-level deal, Matthews signed a huge five-year contract with Toronto, linking him to the Maple Leafs at an annual cap hit of $11.64 million per season. That contract immediately placed Matthews atop the NHL’s salary ranks, clocking in third in terms of the highest cap hit for the 2019-20 season. Matthews then signed another extension in 2023, adding four years to his deal at a $13.25 cap hit. Seravalli noted that if Bedard waits until after July 1 to sign, the maximum allowable term drops to seven years under the CBA, compared to the current maximum term set at eight years. If any of the two sides wants such a long contract, it must be signed before that deadline. “I just think the salary cap environment is changing,” Seravalli said. “I don’t think there’s anything that’s been decided in terms of term or dollars.” Seravalli also reported that both sides are communicating, but there’s no urgency to finalize a deal now and no deep and “substantive” talks have been held yet. “They’re just taking their time. He’s playing on the entry-level deal. There’s no reason to rush,” Seravalli said. “The two sides have remained in communication. “As far as I know, and I did check in on this file over the last couple of days, they haven’t had any substantive talks of late.”
