Chicago Blackhawks accused of stunting Connor Bedard's NHL progress with this latest decision
Photo credit: NHL.com
The Chicago Blackhawks are entering the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season with a worse roster as the one general manager Kyle Davidson iced in the prior season.
Kyle Davidson wants to see what his youth and drafting expertise can do at the NHL level, but at the same time it comes with a great sacrifice of not having proven talent alongside Connor Bedard.
The Athletic reporter Shayna Goldman has addressed the Blackhawks' decision to not add enough talent in free agency this offseason will hinder the development of Connor Bedard and his fellow youth teammates.
«There is a difference between accelerating the process and rushing it, and that would have fallen into the latter category,» Goldman wrote of the Blackhawks not going after a top free agent like Mitch Marner. «Taking the slow and patient approach isn't perfect, either. Sometimes teams don't build the right support system to ease their young guns into a lineup.»
As Goldman notes and we relay, it's too great of a risk for the organization to put so much pressure on the young core this upcoming season.
Connor Bedard's development is now at risk
«It can put too much pressure on franchise cornerstones to jump into meaningful roles, which can derail their development. While the Blackhawks already have some veterans on the roster, including Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, and Connor Murphy, management must ensure that these players can provide sufficient support to their emerging core.
«That starts at the top with Connor Bedard - who still looks to be on the Jack Eichel and Clayton Keller path, but could always slip to the tier below if Chicago doesn't play this right - and trickles down to the likes of Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic and Sam Rinzel. Rebuilding can be a painful process, so taking this quiet of an offseason approach is somewhat risky.»
«That starts at the top with Connor Bedard - who still looks to be on the Jack Eichel and Clayton Keller path, but could always slip to the tier below if Chicago doesn't play this right - and trickles down to the likes of Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic and Sam Rinzel. Rebuilding can be a painful process, so taking this quiet of an offseason approach is somewhat risky.»
The bright side to the concerning aspect we just addressed is that the youth of the Blackhawks led them to four wins in their last six games of this past season, including games against contending teams.
It will be interesting to see how Davidson's plan pans out this upcoming season, and his job could very well be on the line.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 23 | 530 ANSWERS Chicago Blackhawks accused of stunting Connor Bedard's NHL progress with this latest decision Do you think the Blackhawks are wasting Bedard's first few good years in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 332 | 62.6 % |
| No | 198 | 37.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
