Bedard says Kane returning to Blackhawks ‘would be incredible’
Center hoping free agent forward continues career in Chicago
ByTracey Myers
July 20, 2026
Connor Bedard said Patrick Kane returning to Chicago would be great for him and the entire Blackhawks organization
“I don’t know what I can say to persuade his decision, but obviously we’d all be so excited to have player like that but also a guy like that,” Bedard said Monday, two days after signing a five-year, $75 million contract ($15 million average annual value) with Chicago. “I can’t imagine his first game back at the (United Center with the Blackhawks), the reaction he’d get and how much juice that would bring to not only our team but our fans, as well. That would be incredible to play with him and learn from him.”
Kane helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The 37-year-old is the NHL’s all-time leader in points by a United States-born player with 1,400 (508 goals, 892 assists) in 1,369 career games with the Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, with whom he’s played the past three seasons
Kane is an unrestricted free agent and last week, Blackhawks ambassador and former Chicago defenseman Chris Chelios told 104.3 The Score in Chicago that Kane is deciding between two teams: the Blackhawks and his hometown Buffalo Sabres.
“I’m not going to lie to you guys, it is down to Buffalo and Chicago,” Chelios said. “I know that because obviously I spoke to him, but it’s a tough decision for him, it really is, whether to go home, make it easy on his parents, on his family and friends and finish like he did.”
It’s obvious where Bedard thinks he should go.
“Hopefully (Kane) decides to come back (to Chicago),” Bedard said. “You talk about the legacy aspect of it, but just as a team, he would make us a way better team. He’s still an amazing player. I don’t know if this is the best pitch, but hopefully he comes back and we can play together, for sure.”
If Kane did return to Chicago, the first part of that learning for Bedard would come off the ice. Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder for an injury he sustained while practicing in Vancouver on July 2, and he’s expected to be out until November
But when he comes back, Bedard wants to lead the Blackhawks back to the postseason for the first time since 2019-20, three years before Chicago selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Although Bedard won the Calder Trophy as NHL’s rookie of the year in 2023-24 and has 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) in 219 games, the Blackhawks have finished last in the Central Division all three of his seasons
“I’m hoping he becomes a Blackhawk,” Bedard said. “It’d be exciting, it’d be a big boost to the Blackhawks. He still has some good gas left in him. I think he has 2-3 years left in him.”
Kane, who in 2017 was named of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players, had 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games last season while averaging 17:42 of ice time. He had 59 points (21 goals, 38 assists) in 2024-25, when he played in 72 games.
Kane has 138 points (53 goals, 85 assists) in 143 postseason games, including winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2012-13. He won the Hart Trophy as League MVP, the Ted Lindsay Award, which is awarded to the “most outstanding player in the NHL” as voted on by members of the NHLPA, and the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading point-scorer in 2015-16, when he had 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games with Chicago
Kane is second in Blackhawks history with 1,225 points (behind Stan Mikita, 1,467), third in games played with 1,161 (Mikita 1,396; Duncan Keith 1,192) and third in goals with 446 (Bobby Hull, 604; Mikita, 541)
“In my opinion, (Kane) is a Blackhawk. With the Blackhawks, you see how tough it is to make the playoffs. It’s hit or miss, there are no guarantees,” Chelios said. “With the absence of Connor in the beginning of the season, no telling when he’s going to be back yet, how great would that be?”
Chelios also noted that during his jersey retirement by the Blackhawks in 2024, Kane, who was on the visiting Red Wings that night, received a loud ovation
“You saw the reception (Kane) got a couple of years ago during the jersey retirement,” Chelios said. “He still belongs in Chicago.”
