The National Hockey League (NHL) is gradually approaching the 2026-27 season, slated to begin on September 29, but the ongoing offseason has had its big moments already. With the salary cap increased to $104 million for the upcoming season, many of the teams in the NHL are stopping at almost nothing to bolster their rosters.

Amidst that, hockey agent Allan Walsh took to his official X account to talk about one regret amongst the young players in the league during these unprecedented times.

“There are so many younger NHL players right now regretting that they signed last year or during the season. Millions per year were left on the table,” wrote Walsh on Friday, July 4.

He actually quoted an X post from The Fourth Period hockey website with a link to their report about Connor Bedard’s latest demand and its impact on the larger scheme of things.

It was about how the Chicago Blackhawks alternate captain and forward is looking for a $17 million average annual value (AAV) deal after his three-year, entry-level contract expired last month on June 30.

The hockey agent was apparently alluding to how Bedard has valued himself so highly in the ongoing offseason while negotiating a new contract with the Blackhawks as a 20-year-old player.

According to him, it ties into how some of his peers, who have already put pen to paper last season, will be settling for less in these changing market dynamics in the NHL due to the salary cap increase and its subsequent impact on the teams.

Notably, since Bedard is a restricted free agent (RFA) currently, he wants the Blackhawks to match the $17 million AAV payday that Kirill Kaprizov is currently making with the Minnesota Wild as their alternate captain and forward.

It must stem from the fact that Kaprizov is currently the highest-paid player in the NHL after signing an eight-year, $136 million contract with the Wild on September 30, 2025.

However, the current trajectory of the NHL market suggests that this record of Kaprizov might get broken sooner rather than later.

Does Connor Bedard Deserve To Get The Same AAV As Kirill Kaprizov This Off-Season?

Connor Bedard has made his demand for a $17 million AAV deal, matching Kirill Kaprizov, clear to the Chicago Blackhawks, as per the report published in The Fourth Period hockey website.

Now the question is staring the Blackhawks in the face: whether Bedard deserves such a huge contract for a young player in the ongoing offseason in the NHL.

Firstly, it is important to note that Kaprizov has a lot of experience on his side, unlike Bedard, who is still a new kid on the block after entering free agency for the first time on July 1 of this year.

The Russian took the responsibility of being the alternate captain and a top forward at the Minnesota Wild for the majority of the last six seasons, securing a Stanley Cup Playoff spot on five of those occasions.

In the 2025-26 season, Kaprizov amassed 89 points (45G / 44A) in 75 games before guiding Minnesota to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as per NHL.com.

While Bedard has individual performances on his side, too, he wasn’t able to take Chicago to the playoffs in the last three seasons despite being their top-scorer each time. The Canadian registered his career-high numbers by scoring 75 points (30G / 45A) in 75 games in the 2025-26 season, but the organization finished last in the Central Division.

Ultimately, the future of Bedard as a Blackhawk will largely depend on how desperate their front office gets in regard to keeping one of their best players around.

Do you think the Chicago Blackhawks will give in to the demands of Connor Bedard? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi