Hey, What's Going On With That Connor Bedard Contract, Anyway?

Haven't heard much, have we?

As the Hawks season chugs along (emphasis on "chugs"), one undercurrent that we thought might be part of the whole process has been utterly silent. No one seems to be saying anything, which they're also saying is good news. Any talk of Connor Bedard's extension has gone on total blackout. Now that I've written this, expect an announcement tomorrow, if not during the second intermission tonight.

Before the season, neither the Hawks nor Bedard were making any sort of stink about his extension. Both assured everyone it would get done, it wouldn't distract Bedard, and no one had anything to worry about. It certainly hasn't distracted Bedard, who is having his best season. Unless the lack of adding his signature to something caused his shoulder to pop out. Which is probably a stretch.

And yet, all we've ever heard about the Hawks lack of meaningful activity on the free agent market or via trade is that they needed to keep the powder dry for all the extensions they would have to sign their oh so glorious prospects to. They couldn't do anything until they knew what the exact numbers are for Bedard and the Bedardettes, they've told us, and they've kept everything open so they can basically hand Bedard anything. And yet...

It certainly didn't stop them from signing Frank Nazar or Spencer Knight. But those are obviously different cases. There's a fair level of projection to those deals, which Knight has lived up to this season, and Nazar hasn't, though he still has plenty of time. Handing those two a combined $12.3 million based only on what they might do means they were pretty eager to snap up the offers.

While any Bedard extension has some projection to it, the more he's at a point per game this season, the more he's putting actual production on the ice to be compensated for. Again, it seems like the Hawks have said they'll basically hand Bedard whatever he wants. So why hasn't it happened yet? They couldn't be trying to haggle, could they? What leverage do the Hawks have, other than Bedard can't really go anywhere? They wouldn't pull that lever with their entire franchise...would they?

Complicating this more is that none of Bedard's contemporaries have inked deals, either. Leo Carlsson hasn't signed yet. Neither has Adam Fantilli, the two players taken right after Bedard who also went straight into the league. Perhaps they're all waiting on each other to set a market.

It's not easy to find a comp from the previous years, either. Logan Cooley signed an extension this past October, as he's also in his third year like Bedard, for $10M for the max eight years. Juraj Slafkovsky has also signed an extension, but he's not really in Bedard's class. Mason McTavish, same story. Bedard isn't coming in at anywhere near his number, unless his agent suffers some sort of major brain injury.

It's not that I think this isn't going to get done. It most certainly will, and Bedard is going to be very, very rich. Carlsson and Fantilli are probably waiting for him to set the bar that their agents will react off of. Still, what could be the hold up? I can't imagine the Hawks have any problem throwing eight years and $11-13 million on the table per year. In fact, this is the last year they can offer eight years, so one would think that if Bedard were interested in signing for that long, it would have been done already. And yet...

Perhaps Bedard only wants to sign up to his UFA years, to see where the cap goes, to see what his production is, and maybe most importantly, to see where the team is at the end of it. I doubt Bedard is holding the Hawks hostage, and using these negotiations to kick Kyle Davidson's ass into gear. But it's also not hard to see Bedard a little uneasy about committing to eight years here when all he's known is a dogshit team, and they keep telling him it'll be a dogshit team for a little while longer yet.

If Bedard were to stick to only signing for four more years, and be a UFA at age 25, he'll obviously break any record for largest contract in history, unless disaster strikes. Maybe that's what he and his rep are eying.

Again, it's nothing to see the shpilkes build up about, but it is strange that as easy as the Hawks have claimed this would be, how much they've kept in reserve to make sure that it is that easy, and yet it isn't done. Maybe once it didn't get done before the season, they just figured they'll do it afterwards. Whenever it does get done, we'll get some idea of Bedard's patience and confidence level in what the "project" is around here. He's the only one who can wield a hammer to move this fucking thing along. The longer this goes, the more likely he's wielding it.