The Chicago Blackhawks would have to be quite bold to trade Connor Bedard.
He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and has been their most-skilled player so far in his two-year NHL career.
But the Blackhawks have struggled to win, and some fans seem to want Bedard moved.
If he’s traded, it’d be a huge deal in the NHL. He’s one of the league’s top young talents, a native of North Vancouver, British Columbia.
On Saturday, Bovada released trade odds for Bedard.
The Los Angeles Kings are listed as the favorite to get Bedard, at +3000 odds. Three other teams are tied as second-favorite at +5000: the Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars.
Bedard earned some criticism earlier in the season after he had two games in a row with 10-minute misconduct penalties.
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At the time, the Chicago Tribune wrote, “Bedard is having a minor rough patch, nothing that warrants doing anything crazy like trading the franchise (though there are plenty of Vancouver Canucks fans who’d be more than happy to hear you out).”
In 82 games this season, Bedard had 23 goals and 44 points. He was a minus-36 in plus/minus.
“Bedard is still the engine that drives the offense and draws the most attention from defenses, even if other players have been putting up the statistics lately,” the Chicago Tribune wrote. “When the Hawks acquire more legitimate offensive threats, likely through the free agent market or trade, then it’ll be fair to scrutinize how he performs next to better talent.”
If anything, it probably makes sense for the Blackhawks to try and trade to add talent around Bedard. That’s why there’s no heavy favorite in Bovada’s trade odds.
But if Bedard moves, it could shake up the NHL in a big way.
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