There are plenty of storylines to go around with the 2024-25 Blackhawks, from the failures of last summer’s veteran additions to the surprising success of Chicago’s pipeline, which has started to infuse itself with the NHL team itself in the form of skaters like Frank Nazar, Ethan Del Mastro and more. But when you talk about the Blackhawks, it’s inevitable that the first name that comes up is Connor Bedard. Every move the 19-year-old face of the franchise makes is over-analyzed by every fan and on every network.
That’s why it was no surprise when Mark Messier heavily criticized Bedard on ESPN last weekend, suggesting that Chicago should take ice time away from the star to punish him for a poor defensive play. But when Paul Bissonnette piled onto Bedard on national TV (TNT) during the second intermission of Wednesday night’s game, what was previously a rumbling turned into a full-on uproar. The Blackhawks and their fans have made things interesting with Bissonnette on social media, with Chicago vigorously protecting its star player.
Bissonnette’s original comments:
The Blackhawks waited until Bedard picked up another multi-point game on Friday before clapping back:
Was this low? Maybe. After all, Bissonnette was doing his job – analyzing what he saw and providing intermission entertainment to viewers. He made some good points; Bedard’s game could certainly use some work on the defensive end, and he’s a -65 in 122 career games. He certainly shouldn’t be exempt from criticism, and the outrage of the fans and the snarky reply from the team’s social media intern may have been a bit of an overreaction.
At the same time, any criticism of Bedard needs a lot of context. It’s no secret that he’s practically his team’s only source of offense, and he doesn’t have too many highly skilled players around him. That doesn’t necessarily correlate to his shortcomings defensively, but it does when you think about it like Pat Maroon does. The veteran forward argued that because Bedard is trying so hard to make plays on the offensive end, it can hurt his performance just a bit on the defensive end.
Additionally, Bedard isn’t exactly getting beaten by fourth-line grinders (like Bissonnette). He’s been defending skaters like Connor McDavid and a line of Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen said Bedard getting the toughest defensive matchups is by the young skater’s request.
“We challenged Connor, and he wanted the challenge — he wanted to play against those guys… That’s part of the learning curve. When you’re the #1 center, you have to play against other teams’ #1 center. It was great.”
– Anders Sorensen
At the end of the day, no one is exempt from criticism, not even the face of the Blackhawks. With the media coming at their golden boy from all sides, it speaks volumes to how Chicago feels about Bedard with how their fans defended him.
