Connor Bedard - Dec. 15 Chicago Blackhawks Media Availability postgame The Chicago Blackhawks are a low-end NHL team right now. They wanted to be better in 2024-25 but it isn’t that surprising that they are still struggling based on their roster. The young guns show flashes of brilliance here and there but nothing that leads to a long string of wins. To get back to their playoff-making ways, the Hawks need to develop Connor Bedard and continue adding good pieces around him. For that second part, an opportunity may be presenting itself soon. The Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/] have lost 10 games in a row (0-7-3) which has buried them in the Eastern Conference Standings. They are currently 11-16-4 for 26 standings points which is good for 29th in the NHL. They do have four more points than the Blackhawks but they have been trying to make the playoffs for years and have been unable to make that jump. Also, the Hawks could still end up with more points than them this season if things keep trending the way that they are currently. With all of this losing that Buffalo is doing, they may consider a huge transaction to change things up. Of course, firing the coach always comes to mind but trading a good player could happen as well. One player that the Blackhawks could use from the Sabres is Dylan Cozens. He is a great young forward who may need a change of scenery. In 2022-23, Cozens had a career-high 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points in 81 games played. Last year, 2023-24, he took a bit of a step back as he had 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points in 79 games played. It’s not terrible production at all but nothing like the year prior. So far this year, Cozens has 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in 31 games played. That is an even lower pace but everyone knows that this former first-round pick has high-end potential. He’s already proven it. Getting into a different situation could do wonders for a player this talented. The Blackhawks don’t have this great winning situation right now but it’s certainly better than whatever is going on in Buffalo. As a 1-2 punch with Connor Bedard, this could develop into a two-headed monster that leads to many wins. Even if he ends up being a super high-end 3C one day or moves over to the wing, that would be great because it means the Hawks turned into a great team. The Sabres have a track record of trading good players away ahead of them reaching their true potential. Guys like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, Ryan O’Reilly, Evan Rodriguez, and Linus Ullmark amongst others are guys that have either moved on from Buffalo to win the Stanley Cup or a major NHL award. It is unclear if the Sabres will move on from Cozens but you’d think something changes within the organization if the bad stretch continues. If they did make that move and he came to Chicago, he’d be hoping that he makes like the other good players who were traded out of there before him. Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more.
