3 goals in 18 games: Bedard must produce more if he wants to take part in the 4 Nations Tournament

Dose
Crédit: Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Let’s face it, no one saw the Blackhawks being competitive this season, despite some nice additions this summer.

However, watching them languish at the very bottom of the overall standings (before Tuesday night’s games) raises a lot of questions.

When you think of the Hawks, you think of Connor Bedard, and this year, he’s not standing out as much as he did last year in his rookie season.

Immediately, you think of the sophomore jinx, but you don’t expect a guy like Bedard to be affected by it.

His 3 goals in 18 games simply don’t cut it, even though he has 10 assists on a team that’s struggling.

Let’s face it, on paper, Chicago isn’t that bad.

With the additions of guys like Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev, plus a healthy Hall surrounding the youngsters (Bedard, Lukas Reichel and Philipp Kurashev), last place is unacceptable.

Bedard needs to be the cornerstone of the team, and he needs to find the back of the net more often.

Especially if he wants to play for Canada in the upcoming 4 Nations Tournament.

In fact, Darren Dreger and Ray Ferraro discussed his place on Team Canadiens in their podcast The Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast, along with Ryan Rishaug.

Ferraro and Dreger don’t see Bedard in Canada’s final line-up.

He even added that he looks lost, plain and simple.

Ferraro also made a good point.

He says that youngsters who struggle often do one thing in particular: very long attendances.

Ferraro points out that, as of Saturday, there were five players who are on the ice for more than a minute per appearance on average.

Of course, it’s often the defensemen who come out on top.

Connor McDavid is also there, but Bedard was one of the five players with the highest average playing time per appearance.

Ferraro also added that this average should be cut by a third.

Bedard isn’t the Blackhawks’ only problem, however.

In addition to new additions that aren’t performing up to expectations, head coach Luke Richardson could be part of the problem.

Let’s not forget Taylor Hall, who spent Saturday night in the stands(healthy scratch).

Hall, who has six points in 17 games this season, is not quite sure why he was left out.

He even spoke publicly about the lack of communication at this level.

In hindsight, it’s easy to understand the former Hart Trophy winner’s frustration and lack of understanding.

On this subject, Luke Richardson has somewhat admitted his “mistake”.

It’s all part of the process and experience of being a coach.

As you can see at the end of this piece by Jonathan Larivée on HockeyFeed, the majority of fans seem to side with Taylor Hall.

After Jim Montgomery’s recent dismissal in Boston, Richardson could very well be the next to get the boot.

Which coach do you think will be the next to be fired this season?

Overtime

– Interesting.

– He’s so good with the puck. Too bad he’s a burden defensively.

– Good addition.

– What a pass.

– Indeed, it’s hard not to love him.

This content was created with the help of AI.