November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Blackhawks’ 2025-26 Season: Bedard Breaks Through
The Blackhawks’ 2025-26 season was the year Connor Bedard stopped being a promise and became a problem for opponents. Chicago finished 29-39-14 with 72 points, last in the Central Division, and missed the playoffs for a sixth straight spring. The standings told one story. The growth of the young core, led by its 20-year-old centerpiece, told a more hopeful one.
Chicago needed a new direction after another lost year, and it found one in May 2025. The franchise named Jeff Blashill its 42nd head coach on May 22. Blashill had spent seven seasons running the Detroit Red Wings before serving as an assistant under Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay. He replaced interim coach Anders Sorensen, who had finished the previous season after Luke Richardson’s dismissal.
The summer reshaped the roster around youth. General manager Kyle Davidson used the third overall pick on Swedish center Anton Frondell. He also traded up to No. 29 for Mason West after taking Vaclav Nestrasil at No. 25. Frank Nazar signed a seven-year extension in August, a clear signal of where the organization saw its future.
Several familiar faces moved on. Jonathan Toews, the franchise icon, signed with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1. Philipp Kurashev left for San Jose the same day. Spencer Knight, acquired from Florida the previous season, entered camp as the clear starter and signed a three-year extension in September.
Expectations were modest, which made the opening month feel like a jolt. Chicago dropped its opener 3-2 in Florida on October 7. The team then pieced together a competitive month that few outside the building had predicted.
The signature night came on October 28 at the United Center. Bedard scored three times against Ottawa for the first hat trick of his NHL career. The NHL.com recap of the 7-3 win over the Senators captured a young team pulling away late. Two nights later, Chicago sat at 5-3-2, tied for a Western Conference wild-card spot.
Knight steadied the crease behind a young defense. Nazar flashed the speed and skill that had earned his long-term deal. For the first time in years, the rebuild looked like it was accelerating.
Everything changed in the final second of a loss in St. Louis on December 12. Bedard took a faceoff and came away clutching his right shoulder. Blashill called it a freak accident. At that moment, Bedard led Chicago with 19 goals, 25 assists, and 44 points.
His production ranked among the league’s elite. theScore reported on the injury, noting that only three Canadian players topped his 1.42 points per game. He was placed on injured reserve and ruled out until at least early January. Hockey Canada left him off its Olympic roster on New Year’s Eve.
Without him, the Blackhawks unraveled. Chicago won only three games in December, and the wild-card position slipped away. Bedard returned in January against Washington, but the standings damage was already done.
The trade deadline confirmed what the winter had suggested. Chicago was a seller, and Davidson moved decisively within five days.
Connor Murphy went first, traded to Edmonton on March 2 for a 2028 second-round pick. The Blackhawks retained half his salary. Two days later, Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach also went to the Oilers. Chicago received Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional first-round pick in 2027 or 2028.
The emotional move came on March 6. Captain Nick Foligno was sent to Minnesota for future considerations. His departure left the captaincy vacant for the rest of the season. Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi wore the alternate letters through April.
Murphy’s exit carried particular weight. He had patrolled the Chicago blue line since 2017, a steady presence through the leanest years of the rebuild. Dickinson had been a trusted defensive center for Blashill. Foligno had served as the voice of the dressing room as captain.
Those moves stripped away veteran leadership in the middle of a compressed schedule. They also handed even more responsibility to a roster built around players in their early twenties.
The most anticipated debut of the year arrived on March 24 on Long Island. Frondell, just 18, played his first NHL game in a 4-3 win over the Islanders. He did not look out of place. The No. 3 pick collected five points in his first six games and looked comfortable at center.
His arrival gave the spring a purpose beyond the standings. Fans finally saw a glimpse of the one-two punch down the middle that Davidson had been building toward.
The end came at Rogers Place on April 2. Chicago fell 3-1 to the Oilers, and its slim playoff hopes were gone. The NHL.com breakdown of the elimination pointed to a scoring offense that ranked 31st in the league.
Close games told the rest of the story. Chicago went 13-7-14 in one-goal games at that point and 7-14 in games decided after regulation. The three-on-three format proved especially cruel, with Chicago winning just four of 13 overtime games. A team that lost that many coin flips was always going to struggle to climb. The club closed the season with 213 goals scored and 275 allowed.
Bedard delivered the breakout everyone had waited for. He finished with 30 goals, 45 assists, and 75 points in only 69 games. Both his first 30-goal campaign and his first point-per-game season arrived in the same year. Over a full schedule, his pace projected to roughly 89 points.
Bertuzzi was the perfect complement. The winger seized a career-high 32 goals, leading the team, and added 26 assists for 58 points. His consistency under Blashill gave Chicago a reliable finisher on nights Bedard was smothered.
Nazar grew into a genuine second-line threat. He posted 15 goals and 41 points in 66 games, validating his long-term deal. Ilya Mikheyev chipped in 18 goals, while Teuvo Teravainen added 35 points. Artyom Levshunov showed his playmaking upside from the blue line with 22 assists.
Depth forwards found roles as well. Ryan Donato played all 82 games and scored 15 goals. Ryan Greene added 29 points across 81 games, and Oliver Moore contributed 19 points in 51 games. Blashill trusted those young forwards in all situations, and that trust became part of the club’s new identity.
Knight carried the heaviest load of his career. He made 55 appearances, posting a .902 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average. Those numbers came behind one of the league’s youngest defensive groups. After Bedard, no player meant more to the Blackhawks’ 2025-26 season than their starting goaltender.
Season-long numbers are available through Hockey-Reference’s Blackhawks team page.
The Blackhawks’ 2025-26 season ended without a playoff berth, but it ended with a clearer picture. Blashill installed structure, the veterans were cleared out, and the young core took on real minutes. Bedard emerged as a true first-line center, and Frondell arrived ahead of schedule.
The lottery offered little luck. Chicago entered the May 5 drawing with the second-best odds and slid to fourth overall. Davidson then turned that pick into immediate help. The Fox 32 report on the Bowen Byram trade detailed a deal that sent the No. 4 pick, the No. 45 pick, and Louis Crevier to Buffalo. Byram and Jordan Greenway came back to Chicago. Byram had just posted a career-best 42 points, giving the young defense a proven two-way presence.
That trade said everything about where the franchise believed it stood. After years of collecting picks and prospects, the Blackhawks decided it was time to start adding proven players. The losses piled up, but this was the season the rebuild turned a corner.
Bedard headed into the summer as a restricted free agent. A new contract was expected, and he was widely viewed as the natural choice to inherit the vacant captaincy. The letter Foligno left behind seemed destined for the player who had carried the franchise all winter.
7th February, 2017
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