Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Connor Bedard

Blackhawks Notes: James, Bedard, Sörensen, Brossoit

at CDT | by 2 Comments

It seems unlikely that the Chicago Blackhawks will sign one of their collegiate prospects to an entry-level deal. Relayed by Scott Powers of The Athletic, Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson shared in the team’s end-of-season press availability that prospect Dominic James will likely pursue other options for his professional career and become an unrestricted free agent on August 15th.

Normally, a former sixth-round draft pick becoming a collegiate free agent wouldn’t be newsworthy. However, James has established himself as a particularly capable two-way winger in the NCAA, possessing a defensive and offensive maturity that NHL teams would be interested in.

Although last year was mired by injury, James scored 30 goals and 77 points in 111 contests for the University of Minnesota-Duluth over the past four campaigns. He’s unlikely to earn a full-time role in the NHL out of training camp next year, but cleaner paths toward the NHL should emerge for him this offseason.

Other notes from Chicago:

  • Although he’s ineligible for unrestricted free agency for some time, the Blackhawks can sign Connor Bedard to a long-term extension on July 1st. It doesn’t sound like he’ll have any issues if that came to pass, as Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Bedard saying, “I love it here, and I have a great relationship with Kyle and everyone… I know that I want to be here for a long time.” It wouldn’t be surprising, especially considering the past several years, to see a former first-overall selection sign an extension relatively quickly with the club that drafted him.
  • After another disappointing campaign, it’s understandable that Chicago would want to explore different coaching options this summer. Still, that doesn’t mean interim head coach Anders Sörensen wants to leave the organization. Pope reported that Sörensen is open to taking another role within the organization. Before being named the team’s interim head coach on December 5th, he served as head coach for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs since 2022-23.
  • Despite being signed to a two-year, $6.6MM contract last summer, netminder Laurent Brossoit didn’t appear in a game for the Blackhawks this season due to injury. Still lacking clarity regarding the seriousness of his injury, Pope shared that Chicago was hopeful Brossoit “may” be healthy for next season, and could battle for a roster spot out of training camp. Regardless of Brossoit’s status, the Blackhawks already have their tandem for next year in Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom.

Central Notes: Heinola, Stanley, Bedard, Predators

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Jets defense prospect Ville Heinola has had his past couple of seasons derailed by injuries. 2023-24 saw him play no NHL games and 41 AHL games before an ankle injury that required surgery ended his campaign. The 2019 first-round pick was then expected to compete for a roster spot after Winnipeg lost Brenden Dillon to free agency and bought out Nate Schmidt, but he didn’t even partake in training camp after an infection stemming from the screws placed in his ankle to repair the fracture arose during physicals.

The 23-year-old is getting closer to a return to play, though. He started skating on his own at the end of October and was spotted at practice Tuesday without a non-contact designation, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports.

Heinola is on injured reserve and would require waivers to head back to Manitoba on a full-time basis. However, the Jets could allow him to get back up to game speed in the AHL by assigning him on a conditioning loan, which could last for up to two weeks.

The left-shot Finn has never logged more than 12 NHL appearances in a single season. He has 35 career games under his belt more than five years after being drafted, recording 11 points with a -6 rating while averaging 15:15 per contest.

It’s not all good injury news for the Jets, though. Logan Stanley sustained a mid-body injury in Saturday’s win over the Stars and isn’t traveling with the team on their three-game road swing this week, head coach Scott Arniel said (via Clinton). The hulking 6’7″ defender already missed the first four games of the campaign after undergoing minor knee surgery. When in the lineup, he has three points and a +6 rating in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night. His customarily poor possession numbers haven’t changed despite Winnipeg’s hot start – he’s only managed to control 45.5% of shot attempts at even strength, a career-low.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Blackhawks sophomore Connor Bedard is off to a slow-ish start with just three goals through his first 16 games, although he has added 10 assists for 13 points. A horrid 5.8 shooting percentage will ultimately improve and he likely deserves to be on the score sheet more than he is, but he’s still looking to jumpstart his game and has a sense of urgency about doing it. “You can look everywhere, but just feeling like I’m having more impact on the game,” Bedard told The Athletic’s Scott Powers on Monday. “I felt like earlier in the year, I was making a lot of plays, pretty dangerous out there. Lately, I’ve been (making) less of an impact and not really making a difference, so hopefully I can contribute more.”
  • The Predators are still last in the league with a 5-9-2 record, but general manager Barry Trotz foresees improvement on the horizon, he told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com after yesterday’s overtime loss to the Avalanche. “We got off to a bad start,” Trotz said. “We tried to be something that we weren’t. I think we’re coming around. After the 0-5 start, we’re 5-4-1 in the last 10. We’ve played some good teams. I see us being more consistent, getting more balance in our game.”

Poll: Who Will Be The NHL’s Next Captain?

at CDT | by 12 Comments

August is finally here, marking the time of year when teams reconvene at their home rink and begin hardy planning for the upcoming season. That step will come with extra work for the six teams around the league who don’t currently have a captain.

Many of these teams, including Seattle, Anaheim, and Utah, have gone years without a captain – instead opting to disseminate responsibilities among multiple assistant captains. All three teams are amidst staunch rebuilds – with Utah even mapping out relocation – and are likely waiting for their top prospects to take a few more steps before earning the role. The trio of Matthew Beniers, Leo Carlsson, and Logan Cooley seem prime for that ascension with their respective teams, though they each have multiple challengers lining up behind them. The Buffalo Sabres are in a similar grouping, as they transition from a veteran-laden lineup to one of the league’s youngest rosters.

The Chicago Blackhawks also fall into the aforementioned discussion – not carrying a captain since legendary centerman Jonathan Toews ended his career in 2022. Toews leaves massive shoes as Chicago’s leader, after co-heading three Stanley Cup wins alongside winger Patrick Kane. Naming a successor will formally carry Chicago into a new era – one without many of the faces that came to define Chicago hockey in the 2010s. Teenage phenom Connor Bedard seems like a great option to lead that transition, after netting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games last season – the most of any rookie Blackhawk since Artemi Panarin in 2016, and Kane before him. But Bedard is still young and was limited to a partial season last year by a jaw injury. Those factors could hold him back from Chicago’s prestigious ’C’. If that is the case, it doesn’t seem any of the team’s veteran leaders, including Nick Foligno and Seth Jones, would inspire Chicago to name a captain too early.

And while Chicago’s next captain will lead the team through new scenery, it’s the Tampa Bay vacancy that headlines the off-season. The Lightning now sit without a captain for the first time since 2002, after franchise icon Steven Stamkos chose to sign with the Nashville Predators in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Stamkos wore the ’C’ for the last 10 years and established himself as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in that span, leading Tampa Bay to two Stanley Cups and setting the franchise’s all-time records in both goals and points scored. Like in Chicago, the Lightning will be entering a new era with their next captain – though they’re much more prepared for the vacancy than their counterparts. While forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point could both serve as strong replacements, it’s defenseman Victor Hedman that offers the same rugged veteran leadership brought by Stamkos. Hedman recently signed a four-year extension in Tampa, taking him through his age-37 season and, potentially, the end of his career. He’s already appeared in 1,052 games with Tampa Bay – the most of any Lightning other than Stamkos – and holds the franchise records in all three scoring stats, among defenders. Transitioning from Stamkos to Hedman should prove more of a light handoff than a total change in power, which could be enough to sway a Lightning franchise that hasn’t gone longer than one year without a captain since naming Paul Ysebaert as their inaugural ’C’.

Mapping out when captain announcements will come is often a fool’s bet, but the candidates to earn the NHL’s next ’C’ seem to be becoming clearer. Who will it be? Will Tampa jump to another veteran, will Chicago move into their next step, or will an oft-captain-less team commit to their young guard? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments.

If the embedded poll isn’t showing up, use this link to vote!

Connor Bedard Wins 2023-24 Calder Trophy

at CDT | by 3 Comments

After being the first-overall pick last year, Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was considered the preseason prohibitive favorite to win the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.  He did just that as the league announced that Bedard won the voting.

The 18-year-old led or co-led all NHL rookies and Chicago in goals (22), assists (39), and points (61) despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw.  Bedard was the second-youngest player in NHL history to finish his year as the rookie scoring leader in all three categories, only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon was younger.  Meanwhile, he is the second-youngest rookie in league history to lead his team in each category, only Sidney Crosby finished his rookie year at a younger age.

Despite Bedard’s success, there was one other viable contender for the award, that being Minnesota’s Brock Faber.  After quickly becoming an all-around number one blueliner for the Wild, he garnered 42 out of 194 first-place votes.  That said, Bedard got the other 152, allowing him to win the voting by more than 300 ranking points.  New Jersey’s Luke Hughes finished third in voting while a total of 17 players appeared on at least one ballot.

Bedard becomes the tenth player in Blackhawks history to win the award.  He’s the first Chicago player to win since 2015-16 when Artemi Panarin took home the trophy.

Hockey Canada Releases 2024 World Championship Roster

at CDT | by 9 Comments

May 7: Celebrini and Fantilli have returned home from Czechia, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. The former will participate in tonight’s 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, while Fantilli’s reasons for departing are undisclosed. It’s unclear whether they’ve been removed from the roster entirely. In a corresponding transaction, the team added Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Lightning forwards Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul to the roster.

May 3: Hockey Canada has released its roster of 22 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2024 World Championship, which begins next week in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia. There are three open spots left to be filled throughout the tournament as more teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Much like the initial World Championship roster that USA Hockey released weeks back, it’s almost completely made up of NHL talent – a rarity for the top-level countries at this tournament recently. The return and promise of future best-on-best international tournaments in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics has players and front offices looking at this year’s Worlds as a tune-up and initial evaluation for those events.

In fact, the only non-NHL player on Canada’s tournament-opening roster will be in the league next season. That’s presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who continues his 2023-24 campaign after taking home the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player in his freshman season with Boston University. Their offense is highlighted and led by Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard and Kraken sniper Jared McCann, while Sabres defenders Bowen Byram and Owen Power highlight the back end. Blues netminder Jordan Binnington is expected to serve as the team’s starter.

The full roster is as follows:

F Connor Bedard (Blackhawks)
F Michael Bunting (Penguins)
F Macklin Celebrini (2024 draft-eligible)
F Dylan Cozens (Sabres)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Ridly Greig (Senators)
F Dylan Guenther (NHL Utah)
F Andrew Mangiapane (Flames)
F Jack McBain (NHL Utah)
F Jared McCann (Kraken)
F Dawson Mercer (Devils)
F Brandon Tanev (Kraken)

D Bowen Byram (Sabres)
D Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens)
D Jamie Oleksiak (Kraken)
D Colton Parayko (Blues)
D Owen Power (Sabres)
D Damon Severson (Blue Jackets)
D Olen Zellweger (Ducks)

G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Nico Daws (Devils)
G Joel Hofer (Blues)

NHL Announces 2024 Calder Trophy Finalists

at CDT | by 15 Comments

Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, Wild defenseman Brock Faber and Devils defenseman Luke Hughes have been named finalists for this year’s Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie.

Bedard, still just 18, led or tied for the lead in rookie (and Blackhawks) scoring with 22 goals, 39 assists and 61 points despite being limited to 68 games with a broken jaw sustained midseason. He’s the the second-youngest rookie in NHL history to lead their team in all three major offensive categories behind Sidney Crosby, who did so with 39 goals, 63 assists and 102 points in 81 games with the Penguins in 2005-06. Last year’s first-overall pick also led rookies league-wide in shots on goal and takeaways.

While he’s the favorite to win the award, there likely won’t be a very large gap between him and Faber when the voting breakdown among PHWA members is released. The 2020 second-round pick of the Kings had his signing rights dealt to Minnesota in the Kevin Fiala trade a few years back, and he turned pro last spring after three seasons at the University of Minnesota. He immediately jumped into the NHL lineup and stabilized the Wild defense this year with captain Jared Spurgeon missing most of the season with various injuries, posting eight goals and 47 points while playing in all 82 games. Faber averaged 24:58 per game – the most among qualified rookies since the stat has been tracked (1997-98), beating out Atlanta’s Toby Enström by a full 30 seconds.

Those advocating for Faber to take home the award will point to Bedard’s -44 rating, which sat near the bottom of the league. Both players had difficult usage against other teams’ top competition, especially Faber. Yet, compared to their teammates, Bedard was better at controlling possession than Faber, posting a 0.2 relative CF% at even strength compared to Faber’s -3.4 CF% impact. In a team context, though, Faber was much better at dominating possession quality with a 50.6 xGF% compared to Bedard’s 42.3 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.

Hughes’ chance at the award is minimal compared to his peers, but the nomination still puts a bow on a nice rookie season for the younger brother of Jack and Quinn. With Dougie Hamilton missing most of the campaign, New Jersey relied on Hughes as their top puck-moving and power-play option on the blue line. He responded well, tying Faber’s offensive totals with 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists) while also playing in all 82 games, a rarity for a Devils team that struggled to stay healthy this season. He averaged 21:28 per game and controlled possession well at even strength with a 55.0 CF% and a 52.3 xGF%, with his -25 rating largely sunk by the team’s poor goaltending.

Blackhawks Notes: Johnson, Bedard, Kurashev, Captaincy

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks can expect to lose Tyler Johnson this summer, reports Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link), with the veteran forward instead hoping to sign with a playoff contender. Johnson told Pope, “I’m obviously thankful for being here, I’ve met a lot of good people, but it wasn’t exactly like I envisioned or wanted.”

Johnson’s Blackhawks career certainly hasn’t gone as the team may have expected either. He joined the Hawks ahead of the 2021-22 season, after years of filling a solid role, and routinely challenging 50 points, with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But as forewarned by his last two years in Tampa Bay, injuries have heavily limited Johnson’s career in Chicago. He’s missed 97 games over the last three seasons, including playing in just 26 games in 2021-22 due to a neck injury. Those absences have kept him from finding a true groove with the Blackhawks, scoring just 70 points in 149 games and never averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time. Chicago iced one of the youngest lineups in the league this season and seems bound to do much of the same next year, as they attempt to build a franchise around Connor Bedard. After years of injury issues and low scoring, it’s easy to see why the 33-year-old Johnson may prefer a more productive end to his career. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Other notes out of Chicago:

  • Speaking of Bedard, he’s confirmed that he is headed to the World Championship with Team Canada, per The Athletic’s Scott Powers (Twitter link). This is hardly a surprise – Bedard has been a fixture of international hockey since he tied Connor McDavid’s record for U16 scoring (14 points) at the World U18 Championship in 2021. Bedard has officially totaled 21 points in 11 games with Canada’s U18 team and 31 points in 14 games with the U20 team. He’ll look to build on that phenomenal scoring this summer, now at the top level of international play.
  • Bedard’s linemate, Philipp Kurashev, will also be headed to the World Championship to play for Team Switzerland, shares Pope (Twitter link). Kurashev and Bedard quipped that their top goal will be to score on Petr Mrazek, who will suit up for Team Czechia. This will be Kurashev’s fourth consecutive season attending the World Championship, having totaled 13 points in 24 games over the last three tournaments.
  • Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson shared that the team isn’t yet sure if they’ll have a captain next season, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link), adding that it’ll be an off-season conversation with the coaches. The Hawks haven’t had a captain since Jonathan Toews’ career ended in the 2022-23 season, though they did have five different alternate captains last year. Whoever takes on the role will be setting history, becoming the first Blackhawks captain since a 20-year-old Toews took on the role in 2008. Toews’ 14-year tenure in the role makes him one of the longest-tenured captains in NHL history – a list led by Steve Yzerman’s 19 seasons leading the Detroit Red Wings.

Snapshots: Bedard, Vanecek, Jeannot

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly working with local doctors to see if Connor Bedard can make a surprise return to the lineup on Thursday night, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This return would come well ahead of expectations, with head coach Luke Richardson previously stating his hope was for Bedard to return next week. To say Bedard’s return would be impactful is an understatement. The 18-year-old rookie phenom still leads the team in scoring despite missing their last 14 games. The Blackhawks have been abysmal in his absence, going 3-10-1. This includes a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) that the Hawks currently find themselves on, with the team netting just eight goals over the stretch.

Adding back their top scorer, the most recent first-overall selection, and the highest-acclaimed prospect since Connor McDavid will bring a breath of fresh air to a desperate Chicago lineup. Bedard has 15 goals and 33 points in 39 games this season, on pace for 70 points in his rookie season. That would be the most a Chicago rookie has scored since Artemi Panarin managed 30 goals and 77 points in 80 games during the 2015-16 season.

Other notes from around the league:

New Jersey Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek has recovered from an illness that held him out of Tuesday’s game. But head coach Lindy Ruff shares that he is now day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and will continue to be unavailable. Ruff shared that Vanecek will miss the next two games, including New Jersey’s Stadium Series matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey is expected to turn towards Nico Daws in Vanecek’s absence.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tanner Jeannot has been designated as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per team reporter Eduardo A. Encina with the Tampa Bay Times. Jeannot made his return on Tuesday from a lower-body injury that held him out of the team’s last 12 games. Encina adds that head coach Jon Cooper is hoping Jeannot’s new injury won’t be long-term as well. Jeannot has appeared in 42 games when healthy this season, scoring 12 points, split evenly.

Central Notes: MacKinnon, Bedard, Gustafsson, Plandowski

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Colorado Avalanche announcer Conor McGahey tweeted that Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is okay after hitting his face on the ice on Saturday night in a game against the Florida Panthers. The 28-year-old superstar didn’t practice today due to a different minor tweak, but the team is hopeful that he’ll be able to play tomorrow night against the Washington Capitals.

MacKinnon is currently second in NHL scoring with 32 goals and 53 assists in 53 games but has been held pointless in three straight games.

In other Central Division notes:

  • Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope tweeted that the Chicago Blackhawks expect to get rookie phenom Connor Bedard back into the lineup next week. Bedard has a final imaging appointment a week from today and if the appointment goes well Bedard could be back into action by the middle of next week. Bedard’s return will be a welcome development for himself and the Blackhawks as the 18-year-old hasn’t played since January 5th and has 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games this season.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have activated forward David Gustafsson off the injured reserve and loaned him to their AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose for conditioning purposes. The 23-year-old has missed the previous 18 games with a lower-body injury and hasn’t dressed since December 22nd. He has just two assists in his last 21 games and hasn’t scored a goal since October 30th. In 27 games this season the native of Tingsryd, Sweden has just two goals and two assists.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have extended the contract of Director of Amateur Scouting Darryl Plandowski. No terms of the deal were released, but the extension will keep Plandowski with the Coyotes for the foreseeable future. Plandowski was a big part of the Tampa Bay Lightning as he spent 12 years with the organization and was part of the club during their two Stanley Cup championships. He worked his way through the Lightning organization into the role of Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting before eventually joining Arizona in 2020.

Injury Updates: Miromanov, Senators, Killorn, Bedard, Raanta

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Golden Knights welcomed back one of their blueliners for their game tonight versus Arizona as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated Daniil Miromanov from injured reserve.  The 26-year-old had yet to play with Vegas this season as he worked his way back from ACL and meniscus surgery in the summer.  He got into five games with AHL Henderson last month on a conditioning stint and fared quite well, notching a goal and five assists before being recalled a couple of weeks ago.  However, Vegas opted to play it safe with Miromanov, allowing him more time to skate with the team before officially having him suit up for his season debut with the big club.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Senators are expected to welcome back goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Travis Hamonic for their next game on Saturday, relays Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). Forsberg is currently on LTIR and Ottawa will need to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant before activating him.  The 31-year-old has a save percentage of .889 in 16 games so far this season.  Meanwhile, Hamonic has missed the last couple of weeks due to an upper-body injury but has remained on Ottawa’s active roster so no roster move is necessary for him to return.  The 33-year-old has five points and 69 blocked shots in 40 appearances.
  • Ducks winger Alex Killorn skated before practice today as he works his way back from knee surgery, relays Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 34-year-old had the procedure two weeks ago and it carried a four-to-six-week recovery period.  While he didn’t stick around for Anaheim’s full practice, the fact Killorn is back on the ice is a promising sign that his return date could come closer to the earlier part of that range.  He has 19 points in 34 games so far this season, his first with the Ducks.
  • While Connor Bedard has been holding out hope that he could return earlier than expected, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson poured cold water on that idea today. He told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the rookie center’s return is unlikely to come before the original six-week mark.  Despite missing more than a month now, Bedard still leads all rookies in points with 33 in just 39 games.
  • After coming into tonight’s game in relief of Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Raanta made nine saves in his lone period of work.  It has been a rough year for the 34-year-old who had a save percentage of just .870 coming into tonight’s action and cleared waivers back in December.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top