As Charles Dickens once wrote “It was the best of contracts, it was the worst of
contracts, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of
belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of
darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Nobody expected that Charles Dickens will accurately predicted the 2025 NHL
salary market. All jokes aside, on August 21 st , 2025 Frank Nazar signed a seven-year,
$46.13 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks at a $6,599,991 AAV. While the
contract didn’t have the same shock as Kaprizov’s $17 million monstrosity or McDavid’s
ridiculous $12.5 million “Win-Now-Or-Else” deal with the Oilers, it still sent ripples
through the NHL.
The Blackhawks fans almost immediately started celebrations on social media,
both because of the length of the deal but also because it looked like a steal for a player
of Frank’s caliber.
Meanwhile, fans of other teams said “who?” some half-jokingly but others really
not knowing who Frank was, while pundits across the league questioned Kyle
Davidson’s decision to give out nearly $50 million for a player that didn’t make the team
last year, had to go to the AHL and as of contract signing this Summer only played 56
games in the NHL, wile registering 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 total points.
However, as often is the case, the stats don’t tell the whole picture and those
who watched Frank play last Spring saw a confident player that grew well into his NHL
responsibilities and helped Connor Bedard shoulder the team’s offensive load down the
stretch posting eight points in the final seven games of the season, then went on to lead
team USA to a gold medal at the 2025 IIHF World Championship with a team-leading
six goals and six assists in 10 games.
Frank’s contract perfectly encapsulates the confusion, questions and
celebrations that are now commonplace during the new wild west era of re-signing
players when the NHL’s salary cap is moving up quickly after years of stagnation and a
Covid-induced freeze.
These feelings are exacerbated when teams sign unproven elite prospects out of
their entry level contracts in the hope they will one day become the next superstars of
the league. Logan Stankoven, Luke Hughes and Lane Hutson, just to name a few, were
among contracts that were signed and followed by mixed emotions throughout the
league about how underpaid or overpaid the players will now become. As GMs fear a
rapid salary appreciation, they are signing players to large deals in the hope that
eventually they will look like bargains.
Which finally leads us to re-signing Connar Bedard. Over the Summer, a
common consensus was that Connor will sign for somewhere around $10.5 AAV when
factoring in percent-of-cap calculations and compared to similar forwards that signed in
the past such as Jack Hughes.
Then several things happened.
Connor Bedard decided to bet on himself this year and earn a big contract after a
re-worked Summer training routine that returned him to a player resembling his rookie
self, when he was fast and explosive. Not an uncommon plan for elite prospects, if not
for the fact that Frank Nazar decided to take the opposite route and sign for $6.59
million AAV this Summer while at the same time starting to look like a more complete
player than Connor Bedard himself, which would have been unthinkable just 12 months
ago when he didn’t make the opening night roster.
Nazar had an extremely impressive pre-season, netting four goals and adding an
assist for a total of five points, while Connor Bedard ended the exhibition calendar with
one goal and an assist for two points. As of this writing, through four regular season
games, Frank Nazar is the team’s leading scorer with five points, while Bedard sits with
three. Frank’s defensive game is also slightly more advanced than Bedard’s and he
often plays on the penalty kill.
Therefore, while Connor Bedard will still most likely end up being the team’s
highest paid player when he eventually signs with the team, him being the first overall
pick, the face of the franchise and still arguably with one of the highest ceilings in the
league among young players, Frank Nazar’s performances and what starts to look like a
team-friendly contract opens up a number of interesting questions.
If Connor Bedard bet on himself to earn a contract well north of $10 million AAV,
what happens if Frank Nazar outperforms him this year? Will it matter? Should it
matter? Will Kyle Davidson use Frank Nazar’s contract and performances to negotiate
with Connor Bedard’s representatives? Can he justify giving Connor a contract worth
almost double against the player that just outperformed him over 82 games?
Connor Bedard surely put himself in an interesting position.
It would be unthinkable for Connor Bedard, a Calder Trophy winner, and his
team’s leading scorer for two years in a row as an 18 and 19-year-old to sign for less
than $10 million AAV, especially when players like Luke Hughes and Lane Hutson
recently inked deals close to that number.
Furthermore, every player’s situation is different and there are other intangibles
that boost a player’s value such as name recognition throughout the league and in
Canada, jersey sales and marketing potential. Also, as a first line center, Connor is
often faced with the opposing team’s best centers, which influences his point production
while Frank can benefit from slightly easier matchups.
At the end of the day, no matter what happens, the Blackhawks are better off
having two elite prospects that seem to be trending into becoming the next NHL
superstars. They have recently become off-ice friends as well, attending Bears and
Cubs games together. Their on-ice competition will make them better as players and
make the team better moving forward.
Whatever contract Connor ends up signing, it should not cause any problems in
the dressing room or friction with Frank. However, it will be interesting to watch these
two future franchise cornerstones over the course of the season.