Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward

It’s a gargantuan dedication to the 21-year-old Nazar contemplating his lack of NHL expertise. The 2022 No. 13 general choose lands the richest total-value contract in league historical past for somebody with 56 or fewer profession appearances, which is Nazar’s tally coming into the 2025-26 marketing campaign.

Nazar, who nonetheless has one 12 months left on his entry-level contract earlier than his extension will kick in for 2026-27, has but to spend a complete season on the NHL roster. Final 12 months was his first full run within the execs after two years on the College of Michigan, however he made his NHL debut within the remaining three video games of 2023-24 after signing his ELC. He didn’t make the Blackhawks’ opening night time roster however, after recording 11 targets and 24 factors in 21 video games for AHL Rockford, was recalled in mid-December shortly after Chicago’s teaching change and by no means regarded again.

He faltered out of the gate, recording just one help and a -5 ranking via his first 10 appearances whereas averaging 14:44 of ice time per recreation. However underneath interim head coach Anders Sörenson, who had overseen his early-season success in Rockford, he was prolonged some endurance. That paid off in the long term as Nazar constructed confidence, together with a four-game level streak in January and a run of 9 factors in eight video games in April to finish the season.

All informed, Nazar completed the season with a 12-14–26 scoring line 53 video games — ninth on the group — and averaged practically 16 minutes per recreation. Whereas dimension issues (5-foot-10, 190 kilos) created some detractors about his capability to carry down his pure heart place within the NHL, he noticed a good period of time as Chicago’s second-line intermediary behind Connor Bedard. His commonest deployment (107 minutes) amid an astronomical 91 completely different line combos utilized by the Hawks final 12 months was at 2C between Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen, though he did additionally see a while up on Bedard’s wing.

Nazar was seen as a top-10 risk within the 2022 class, however after slipping to Chicago and lacking most of his freshman 12 months at Michigan as a consequence of damage, there have been warranted doubts about his growth path. He silenced them shortly with a point-per-game sophomore exhibiting for the Wolverines and has made about pretty much as good an adjustment to professional hockey as may be anticipated, given the shortage of high quality veteran assist on the Hawks’ NHL roster.

A protracted-term guess at what’s even now a conservative second-line worth level in 2025 may pay unbelievable dividends for the Blackhawks if he stays a long-term top-six piece, even when it’s on the wing, because the cap will increase and so they reward the opposite items of their younger core with long-term offers. There’s additionally an unbelievable threat issue for somebody nonetheless comparatively early on their growth monitor with lower than a full season’s price of NHL expertise.

The one current comparable for somebody along with his expertise is Wild famous person Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year, $45M contract after his rookie season (55 GP). Kaprizov, nevertheless, had much more skilled expertise after developing via Russia’s KHL and was two years older than Nazar is now, making him a extra projectable participant. Kaprizov additionally took dwelling the Calder Trophy that 12 months and had twice the offensive output Nazar did.

As such, the Blackhawks are betting exhausting on Nazar being a long-term answer, both as a wingman for Bedard or as a second-line heart behind him. There’s definitely motive for optimism – he’s developed effectively and is coming off a spectacular World Championship exhibiting with the US that earned him a spot at their Olympic orientation camp. He’ll be underneath contract via the 2032-33 season and may stroll to unrestricted free company upon expiry.

Getting Nazar’s extension out of the way in which now isn’t nearly him, although. Chicago has two different big-ticket RFAs subsequent summer time — Bedard and new No. 1 goalie Spencer Knight — who will take severe assets to increase. They nonetheless have barely over $40M in allotted cap hits for 2026-27, although, leaving them with just about limitless spending energy underneath a projected $104M cap.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the Blackhawks have been signing Nazar to a seven-year extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli reported a extra correct cap hit within the $6.6M vary.