Blackhawks' Connor Bedard gets $11 million contract update as RFA approaches

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Blackhawks' Connor Bedard gets $11 million contract update as RFA approaches originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Connor Bedard is due to get paid soon.

The only question is how much the Chicago Blackhawks will be willing to dish out for their young center.

Sportsnet's Rory Boylen analyzed a bunch of different precedents and arrived at the idea that it could be as much as $11 million per year.

Given that Bedard is soon going to be a restricted free agent, the Blackhawks have to figure this out before July arrives.

"The best recent comparable for Bedard -- the first overall draft pick in 2023 -- is Logan Cooley, the No. 3 overall pick from 2022," Boylen writes. "Cooley re-upped with Utah this past October on an eight-year extension and $10 million cap hit. That contract does not start until next season, so that rate will account for 9.62 per cent of next year's cap."

Boylen then shares the stats -- Cooley with 152 points through 211 games, Bedard with 203 points through 219 games.

Seems like it should be more than that $10 million per year.

"The highest 'percentage against the cap' a recent RFA has signed for is Tim Stutzle, who signed at 10 percent on a deal that began in 2023. His current cap hit is $8.35 million," Boylen writes. "If Bedard were to sign at that rate, his next AAV would be $10.4 million, but again, given Bedard's first three years were more productive than Stutzle's, we would anticipate him coming higher than that on an eight-year extension."

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So if even $10.4 million per year isn't enough, what is?

Maybe $11 million for an eight-year extension would get it done.

"Chicago's highest-paid active player is Andre Burakovsky, who's making $5.5 million against the cap, and it's worth wondering if Bedard could double that on his next deal," Boylen writes.

Bedard appears to be pretty close to smashing all those recent precedents and getting a huge number.

It would be hard to argue that he doesn't deserve it.

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