If you were to rank the NHL’s 30 (you’ll see why it’s not 32 in a second) franchises between 2011-12 and 2024-25, you’d put the Buffalo Sabres at the bottom. Fast-forward to the 2021-22 season, which had since seen all 32 franchises in the league, you’d put the Sabres near the bottom.
While a playoff berth is still a pipe dream for Buffalo fans thanks to a do-nothing general manager, one of the league’s most historical franchises has been in dire straits for a while. Since the NHL resumed an 82-game schedule in 2021-22, the Chicago Blackhawks have regressed each year, with the 2024-25 campaign marking at least some early progression, right?
Maybe, but what if those brewing rumors swirling around a potential Connor Bedard trade are true? Bedard hasn’t exactly lit up the league in Chicago, and while he’s predictably denied such rumors, it still raises questions. But if Bedard were to be on the move sooner rather than later, that would likely sink the Blackhawks far below any depths in the abyss the Sabres have explored since the turn of the decade.
Could Connor Bedard leave Chicago faster than Jack Eichel left Buffalo?
Something else we need to factor in is Bedard’s contract. Insiders like Craig Button believe Bedard shouldn’t rush into an agreement come July 1st, when he’ll be eligible to sign an extension. But would the Blackhawks want to sign what was supposed to be their franchise-changing player as early as possible, guaranteeing he’d be in Chicago for at least another few seasons, if not longer?
Hey, I wouldn’t blame Connor Bedard one bit if he sat back and considered his options. Bedard isn’t obligated to stick around in Chicago, especially if the team moved the needle only a few inches north. And it’s not like his overall play improved while the support around him never materialized, despite Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi signing on.
If Bedard had an ultimatum in mind for the Blackhawks for the 2025-26 season: Get better or I’m leaving town, especially since signing restricted free agents to offer sheets is about to become the norm, then can anyone blame him? He’d probably make Jack Eichel look like a saint in the eyes of Sabres fans if he left the Blackhawks like that, but hey, it’s something general manager Kyle Davidson can blame himself for.
A what-went-wrong story for the ages if Bedard left Chicago
Should such events unravel, and they’re not as farfetched as they may seem, NHL pundits and even fans of the Blue and Gold may look more fondly on Jack Eichel and acknowledge him simply surviving for six seasons in Buffalo. Not counting his shortened 2020-21 season, Eichel’s play also improved year after year, while Bedard’s has stagnated, at best.
So yeah, Eichel, the Sabres, and Sabres fans may have had a bitter ending, but it would be nothing compared to a generational talent going elsewhere either via a trade or by signing an offer sheet and getting out of what might be the NHL’s worst situation.
Now, this could also head in the other direction: The Blackhawks get it together and end up lapping the Sabres with Bedard leading the charge. And would anyone be surprised? But as it stands, we might be talking about the ‘Connor Bedard Sweepstakes’ this time next season in what would be a bizarre turn of events for the entire NHL.