The Chicago Blackhawks are not going to be afraid to give Connor Bedard a big chunk of their salary cap as he is a great young talent and has been the best player on the team in his first two seasons before turning 20 years old.
The salary cap rose and is going to continue to rise pretty significantly, but the Blackhawks have plenty of room to give Bedard a lot of money on his next contract. He is already a leader on the team and will be the next captain. According to Ben Pope, "Bedard's next contract will almost certainly be in the 10%-15% of the salary cap range, which is $9.55 million - $14.33 million AAV range.
I don't think it gets past $13 million AAV as is it tough to justify giving someone a contract like that out of their rookie contract. He is going to get a lot, but the 15% of the cap is for the elite of the elite who have already proved so much and are in the prime of their careers. Bedard is only 20 years old and that sort of 15% of the cap contract will likely come on his following deal.
The Blackhawks aren't going to be stingy with money though. Frank Nazar got paid after very little NHL experience and Bedard has proven much more and been their number one center as a teenager, putting up rare offensive production.
He is small, which will continue to be a concern, and his defensive game needs work, but when he decides to shoot more and get better linemates, Bedard is going to be a big problem for the league. He is going to deserve the contract he gets, and if it is on the higher side, that won't hurt the Blackhawks if he continues to grow like he is projected to and hits his prime in his mid 20s.
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