Following Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the Chicago Blackhawks were officially eliminated from contention for the postseason. At 20-40-9, the Blackhawks have the second-worst record in the NHL, only better than the San Jose Sharks (18-42-9).
Amid a disastrous season for Chicago in Connor Bedard’s second season with the team, many fans are calling for general manager Kyle Davidson to be fired. Davidson has held the role of GM since he became the interim GM in October of 2021.
Davidson led the “tank” to land Bedard, but he’s been slow in rebuilding the team around the young centre. Bedard has regressed in several areas this season.
Kyle Davidson is another young face in the crowd
Per Tracey Myers of NHL.com, Bedard sees Davidson as another young face in the organization trying to build a winner.
“Yeah, we have a good relationship,” Bedard said of Davidson. “It’s cool. He’s a younger GM (36) and we’re a younger team. We have a lot of guys coming in basically the same time as him. He’s really easy to talk to and I think we’re all trying to grow together and take those next steps, and having that relationship is important.”
Bedard went on a cold streak in March (three points in eight games) that saw his frustrations boil over into receiving misconduct penalties in two straight games. He’s scored goals off of power plays in two consecutive outings, though fellow Chicago centre Jason Dickinson wasn’t impressed amid mounting losses.
Bedard said he needs to “get rid of” stretches where he isn’t scoring points, as he understands the Blackhawks expect him to produce. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft leads Chicago with 54 points this season.
Connor Bedard: Chicago Blackhawks aren’t focused on results
With the Blackhawks out of playoff contention, Bedard’s goal isn’t to be as “focused on results” as having fun in the final few weeks.
“I know what I’m trying to do right now is not be so focused on results and just know we’re young, we’re trying to get better and just have fun,” Bedard said. “It’s a great group of guys and we have, what, three weeks left? So just have fun, enjoy it and do the best you can. Obviously you’re trying to win every game, and you want to win, but we’re going to try to play the best we can.”
Bedard believes the team can improve if the players on the team get better.
While improved players would make the Blackhawks a better team, Bedard also needs Davidson to put better talent around him.
The Blackhawks travel to play the St Louis Blues on Saturday at the Enterprise Center.
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