Blackhawks: 1 reason Connor Bedard will not force his way out

The Chicago Blackhawks are two weeks away from adding phenom Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in NHL Entry Draft.

There are some people out there hoping Bedard refuses to play for the Blackhawks. The reasoning is the Hawks do not deserve Bedard after the Kyle Beach scandal. The hope is he pulls a move like Eric Lindros did back in 1991.

Lindros famously refused to play for the Quebec Nordiques after they took him with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft. The reason he refused to play for the Nordiques was because of a sexual harassment scandal the team owner was involved in at the time.

Lindros forced a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992 and the Nordiques eventually left Quebec for Colorado.

Now, Connor Bedard refusing to play for the Chicago Blackhawks would not have the ramifications as when Lindros refused to play for Quebec.

Sure, it would hurt the Blackhawks’ rebuild but it would not cause the team to relocate. Here is the thing, Bedard is going to be the No. 1 draft pick, and he is going to play for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Connor Bedard has one simple reason to stick with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The reason is money. Lindros had all the leverage as he could re-enter the 1993 draft. Quebec did not want to lose Lindros for nothing so that is why they traded him.

Bedard could possibly pull the same move and re-enter the draft in two years if he is deemed eligible. If he was not allowed to enter and re-enter the draft, he could wait for the Hawks’ draft rights to him to expire.

The thing is he will make the same amount no matter what when he enters the NHL. Lindros got a five-year $22 million deal. That is when draft picks could negotiate how much they made.

With the current collective bargaining rules in place, Bedard has no leverage in contract negotiations. He can only sign for three years and makeup to as much as $4.45 million a year. The entry-level contract rules that apply in 2023, will still apply in 2025.

Bedard willingly postponing making $9 million dollars because the Chicago Blackhawks had a scandal back in 2010 does not make sense.

First, Bedard was five years old when the Kyle Beach scandal happened. Second, the Chicago Blackhawks have gotten rid of all the people involved in the cover-up.

Chairman Rocky Wirtz is the only person in the organization that was there in 2010 and the investigation he paid for cleared him of any wrongdoing (keyword is he paid for the investigation). What happened to Kyle Beach was awful and should never be erased from team history.

The Hawks are trying to learn from the mistakes that led to the organization failing Kyle Beach. Hopefully, the changes the Blackhawks have made allow Bedard to feel safe and comfortable with the organization.

Bedard’s presence can also help usher in a new era of Blackhawks hockey where no one is marginalized in the pursuit of a Stanley Cup.

Lindros was dealing with an owner whose scandal happened right around the time he was drafted. The Blackhawks scandal happened when Bedard was learning his ABCs and 123s.

Bedard can also get to his second contract faster by playing for the Blackhawks right away. He is not going to Rockford so he will be showcasing his talent on the NHL stage right away. If he plays up to the hype, he will be entering into negotiations for his second deal when he is 21.

If he follows the Lindros plan, he would be delaying potentially reaching that point for another five years.

That would not be worth postponing over a scandal that happened when he was just a kid with an organization working hard to make sure it never happens again.