Blackhawks use free agency to add experienced forwards for Bedard

CHICAGO -- The message from the Chicago Blackhawks on the opening day of free agency Monday was loud and clear: they wanted more of a veteran presence at forward for Connor Bedard.

With the signings of Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Pat Maroon and Craig Smith, the Blackhawks got the help they were seeking for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

“I think we have to have the right (veterans) and we have to have enough of them to sustain our play every night and to help push the young players coming and learning,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “As great as Connor played last year and winning the Calder (Trophy) and everything is great. I still don’t think he’s 19 yet. He’s still 18 and he’s still learning. We have to give him all the support.”

Bedard, who turns 19 on July 17, led all NHL rookies with 61 points and 22 goals. He also had 39 assists, tied for the rookie lead with Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber.

Bedard won the Calder as the League’s top rookie at the NHL Awards on Thursday. He was one of the few bright spots last season for the Blackhawks (23-53-6), who finished eighth in the Central Division. They had the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, selecting defenseman Artyom Levshunov.

Bedard found chemistry with right wing Philipp Kurashev last season, and the two could certainly start this season together. Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall, who were acquired from the Boston Bruins for defensemen Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula on June 26, 2023, spent time on Bedard’s left wing. Hall, however, was finished for the season in late November after having ACL surgery on his right knee.

So, Chicago needs to find more options for Bedard.

Enter Bertuzzi, who signed a four-year, $22 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) on Monday. The left wing got off to a slow start with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, but Bertuzzi’s numbers improved once he started playing with Auston Matthews over the final two months. He finished with 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) in 80 games.

Teravainen, who signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract ($5.4 million AAV), is listed as a center but has played plenty of right wing and could go on the first or second line. Teravainen, who won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015, had 53 points (25 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games last season with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Maroon signed for one year, $1.3 million; Smith for one year, $1 million. The Blackhawks also signed defenseman Alec Martinez (one year, $4 million) and goalie Laurent Brossoit (two years, $3.3 million AAV) on Monday.

With the influx of veterans, some of Chicago’s up-and-coming forwards, such as Landon Slaggert and center Frank Nazar, may not get as big of an opportunity as initially thought. Then again, that could be a good thing; Slaggert, a third-round pick (No. 79) in the 2020 NHL Draft, played 16 games for the Blackhawks last season (one goal, three assists). Nazar, the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, scored one goal in three games.

“Well, you see how hard the playoffs are, and if you want to compete in this league every night, you have to have the veteran depth to help on a nightly basis,” Richardson said. “Also, building the depth up in the organization, we saw with injuries last year and I know it was an abundance of injuries at once or trickled together, you have to have a better depth market. You can’t just bring up all young guys when they’re not ready. The idea for Rockford (American Hockey League) is to develop and if you pull them out of that too early, it’s hard. It kind of takes them out of their timeline and sometimes put them back even further behind.”

The Blackhawks were also trying to get more physical and add help with puck retrieval. Bertuzzi, Maroon and Craig Smith should be able to help in that regard.

Chicago is happy with its young talent, especially Bedard. But it wants to keep adding experience around him.

“We have big guys to go get the pucks,” Richardson said. “But then once we get it, we want to be fast. The Teravainens, that’s where that’s going to help us just keep that puck even longer and that’s the plan.

“The longer the puck possession you have in this league, the more you can do with it. It makes the other team frustrated and takes them out of their game plan, so that’s the way we want to play is fast and hard, and I think we definitely have taken a big step toward that today.”