The C before the first skate
Twenty years old. A repaired shoulder. And a C stitched on the jersey.
Chicago made the call this morning. Connor Bedard is now the 37th captain in Blackhawks history. The news lands just days before training camp opens, even though he won’t be on the ice for the season opener. He had surgery on his left shoulder earlier this month.
The move caps a summer that locked everything down. Bedard signed a five-year, $75 million deal as a restricted free agent, carrying a $15 million hit against the salary cap each season.
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A franchise looking for a face
The job was open, or close enough. Nick Foligno wore the letter for much of the last two seasons before being traded to the Minnesota Wild at the deadline in March. Before him, Chicago went without a captain for the entire 2023-24 season. You have to go back to Jonathan Toews and those 14 years to find real continuity in the role.
The comparison will follow Bedard all season. That’s how it works in Chicago.
The numbers, though, are on his side. Last season was his best yet: 30 goals and 75 points in 69 games, both career highs. Since arriving as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, he has 75 goals and 203 points in 219 games.
A resume already stacked
The Calder Trophy has been in the cabinet since 2024, earned after a rookie year that produced 22 goals and 61 points. The North Vancouver native didn’t wait for the NHL to start carrying a team on his back, either: back-to-back gold medals at the world junior championship in 2022 and 2023. At the second of those tournaments, he ran the table with nine goals and 23 points before being named both the tournament’s best player and top forward.
One big question remains, and it’s a proper one. Nobody has said when the shoulder will let him return.
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