Chicago Blackhawks Fans Are Going To Run Connor Bedard Out Of Town, And It's Going To Be Glorious
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.[Jordie's Note: yes, this blog is coming from a bitter Flyers fan who still hasn't gotten over the 2010 Stanley Cup Final]
Let's just rewind the clock a little bit here for a moment, shall we?
Almost 18 years ago to this exact day, Patrik Stefan missed one of the iconic empty net goals in the history of the sport.
This was January 4, 2007. Why am I bringing up this random moment of a Stars vs Oilers game in 2007? Well because the fact that Patrik Stefan missed this empty netter allowed the Edmonton Oilers to pick up an extra point in the standings from sending this game to overtime. The Oilers finished the season with 71 points, which was tied with the Chicago Blackhawks that year. However, because the Oilers had more regulation wins than the Blackhawks, it meant that Chicago finished the year with the 5th worst record.
The 2007 NHL Draft Lottery took place in April of that year. Only the league's worst 5 teams had a chance to land the top overall pick. If Patrik Stefan had scored that empty netter, the Oilers would have finished the year with 70 points and Chicago would have only been the 6th worst team. But instead, they had a chance to move up 4 spots in the draft that year. Which is exactly what they did. They jumped the Philadelphia Flyers, who had the worst record in the league that year, and took the 1st overall pick in 2007.
Which, of course, ended up being Patrick Kane. Who, of course, went on to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to 3 Stanley Cup Championships. With the first one, of course, coming against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010.
Do Chicago fans not realize how lucky they were to land Patrick Kane? Do they not understand the absolute bullshit lunacy that had to take place in the universe for them to get that 1st overall selection? And then by some divine intervention, these greedy sons of bitches somehow did the same thing in the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery by jumping up 2 spots to take Connor Bedard with the 1st overall pick.
Connor Bedard is one of the most offensively gifted players we've ever seen. Granted, he is small in stature. He's not going to be a guy who is going to beat you physically. He has good speed, but he's not exactly going to completely torch you like McDavid out there. But he has the gift of one of the most ridiculous shots on the planet. There are like 5 or 6 guys in the whole world who have shots so insane that NHL goalies have no idea what to do with them. Connor Bedard is one of those guys. Maybe he didn't have the greatest start to his 2nd season in the league, but just look at the production out of this kid with getting zero help from management putting any skill out on the ice with him.
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You'd think that Chicago fans would be over the moon with how lucky they got once again to draft such a special talent. To luck into Patrick Kane. To luck into Connor Bedard. You'd think that fanbase would never have a single complaint for the rest of eternity. But you'd be wrong.
Do you have any idea how spoiled you need to be saying you wish you had Macklin Celebrini over Connor Bedard? All while sitting in your personal sauna for red light therapy, no less. I'm not comparing these players to each other, but it would be like Penguins fans bitching that they have Mario Lemieux instead of Gretzky. They are both insanely talented. They are both franchise altering talents who can set your team up for tremendous success over the next 15 years. Any team would be fortunate as hell to have either of them. But Blackhawks fans have gotten greedy, they've gotten spoiled, and having one of the most special young talents in the game isn't good enough for them anymore.
How many more years is Connor Bedard going to sit in the locker room answering questions about "being hard to play against" before he realizes he should take off in free agency? How many more years is Connor Bedard going to have to listen to alumni like Jeremy Roenick cry like a little bitch because Bedard didn't go up to him before a game to say how amazing he was in the 90s before he was even born?
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If this is how Chicago wants to treat Connor Bedard over the next few years, then by all means go ahead. Eventually he'll realize he should be around those who appreciate him. I already know of one great friend he has in the league who would love to team up with him at some point.