Who his linemates are going to be this season is also unclear.
With free agency opening on Wednesday, the Blackhawks made a big splash on the back end, signing defenseman Bowen Byram to a six-year, $75 million contract eight days after acquiring him in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres.
They also made two depth free agent signings by landing defenseman Ian Cole (one year, $4 million contract) and forward Cole Smith (three years, $9 million contract with a $3 million average annual value).
“I believe we’ve filled some spots we wanted to shore up while leaving runway for some young players to continue their development and growth into roles that they’ve already started to mature into,” Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson said. “At the same time, we’re going to keep looking into what’s available to us and making sure we’re leaving no stone unturned and try to maximize our roster potential going into the season.”
But Bedard, a restricted free agent who was eligible to sign a new contract on Wednesday, remained unsigned with Davidson saying there was no update.
As for who will play with Bedard next season, assuming he re-signs with Chicago, those players will likely come from within the organization.
Forward prospect Roman Kantserov is expected to get the opportunity at right wing to start next season. A second-round pick (No. 44) by the Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old had 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games last season for Metallurg of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Anton Frondell, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, played on Bedard’s wing a bit last season after the former made his NHL debut on March 24. The Blackhawks, however, are expecting Frondell to move to center this season.
So, who’s on Bedard’s other wing?
“There’s a number of guys that could work there, whether it’s a younger guy like Nick Lardis (20 years old), one of the guys we have planned to play in the middle can play on the wing, Ryan Greene’s a year older (22), Oliver Moore (21) has a growing game, and then there’s a number of different vets,” Davidson said.
“A lot of those things are trial and error. Sometimes you work in pairs rather than in threes, so you get a pair and mix and match and see what works from there. We don’t know if Roman’s going to work there. We believe it will, based on the traits and how they play the game and how they see the game, but that’s what training camp and games are for. It’s their job to get together and find that little bit of magic. We believe it could be there, and then we’ve got a lot of other players that can be complementary and add something to the dynamic qualities that both players possess.”
Davidson said they’ll wait to see if there’s anything still to be done with the roster between now and training camp. And if these are the Blackhawks going into camp, Davidson said, “I’d be excited about the group.”
But Bedard, the almost 21-year-old who the Blackhawks selected No. 1 at the 2023 NHL Draft and has 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) in 219 regular-season games, said at the end of last season that he wants to be in Chicago, but he’s also ready to win in Chicago.
“This kind of has to be the last year of, obviously the games aren’t meaningless, but not playing until the end of the year. Playing for something in the (Stanley Cup) Playoff standings,” Bedard said on April 16.
“That’s on us as individuals. I take a lot of responsibility for that and feel like we can all just pull with the same rope. You saw that for kind of the first half of the year. We were in that (playoff) spot and then things kind of, we slid a little bit. As my production went down, I feel responsible for that, which adds motivation. I think all our guys are ready to make that push.”
The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs eight of the past nine seasons.
“There are young pieces and players that we truly do believe in that we think can be serious impact contributors in the NHL and for us,” Davidson said. “So, we’re excited to see them continue to grow and, in some cases, get their first NHL experience. Then also, the additions we’ve made will be impactful ones. So, it’s an exciting time.
“Sometimes internal growth and players just organically coming through the system isn’t the most exciting and riveting thing for people. When you have the players that we believe we have and will show the necessary growth over the summer, but also in the coming seasons, it leaves a lot of exciting upside here.”
