The Chicago Blackhawks really did not have another natural choice for their next captain. It had to be Connor Bedard. There was no other way around it.
Connor Bedard is the undisputed face of the franchise, the centerpiece of the rebuild and now the player the organization has committed to for the foreseeable future. The Blackhawks officially named Bedard the 37th captain in franchise history on Tuesday, making him the second-youngest captain in team history behind Jonathan Toews.
Sure, there were other possibilities. A more experienced player such as Bowen Byram could have been considered. Byram is 25, has already played more than 300 NHL games and signed a six-year extension with Chicago this summer. But he only arrived from Buffalo in June. Handing him the captaincy immediately would have been difficult to justify.
Bedard, meanwhile, has emerged as the most pivotal piece of the rebuild. He was the reward for those sour seasons of losing.
He has led the Blackhawks in scoring in each of his first three NHL seasons and just signed a five-year, $75 million extension that runs through 2030-31.
At this point, there was no real alternative. Even with Patrick Kane returning, this was Bedard’s time.
Bedard’s Contract Makes It Clear This Is His Team
The captaincy might have been inevitable anyway, but the Blackhawks’ decision to make Bedard their long-term financial centerpiece made it even more obvious.
Chicago did not simply sign Bedard to another bridge contract. It gave its franchise player a $15 million annual cap hit through 2030-31. The message was clear: this organization is being built around the 21-year-old.
Bedard is going to be expected to lead the Blackhawks through the next stage of their rebuild. The young core around him is talented, but there is no established veteran who has emerged as the clear-cut guy to put ahead of him.
As the newly-minted captain put it in his letter to the city, he understands the responsibility behind being the team’s captain.
“I do have this big responsibility, which is to help bring the Blackhawks franchise back to where it belongs. Playing tough, winning hockey. Making deep playoff runs. And most importantly — and I can promise you it’ll happen — competing for Stanley Cups.”
That is important because the Blackhawks are no longer simply waiting for Bedard to become the player they hope he can be.
They have already signaled he’s the man.
The former first-overall pick led Chicago with 75 points last season despite playing only 69 games, and he has accumulated 203 points through his first 219 NHL games.
That’s why the organization is going to live and die with Bedard at the center of everything.
That does not mean he has to carry the entire team himself. It means Chicago has now formally acknowledged what has been obvious since the day it won the 2023 draft lottery.
As such, this is Bedard’s team.
Now the Blackhawks Need to Build His Leadership Group
The interesting part now is figuring out who will help Bedard carry the responsibility.
Patrick Kane is an evident name.
The 37-year-old returned to Chicago this summer on a two-year, $16 million contract after spending more than two seasons away from the organization. Kane already knows what it means to be the face of the Blackhawks, having served as an alternate captain during his first stint with the team.
Tyler Bertuzzi can also provide something Bedard does not have yet: years of experience dealing with the daily grind of an NHL season.
Then there is Byram to keep in mind.
He may not have made sense as the captain immediately after arriving in Chicago, but his long-term importance to the Blackhawks makes him a natural candidate for a prominent leadership role. Chicago acquired him from Buffalo in June and quickly signed him to a long-term extension.
That is the kind of commitment that suggests Byram is going to be around for the next stage of this rebuild.
Bedard gets the C.
At this point, Chicago has to surround him with enough veteran leadership to make sure the weight of that letter does not fall entirely on a 21-year-old.
The Blackhawks have made their choice.
The next step is making sure Bedard has the right people beside him.
Blackhawks Naming Connor Bedard Captain Was Inevitable