Blackhawks power rankings: Bedard’s consistency, Donato’s trade value, Messier’s complaint

When we started these power rankings, the thought was we’ll place CHSN last, but something has to change soon for the network and we’ll elevate when that does happen.

As you all know too well, nothing has happened. And so, CHSN continues to ride the bottom.

Luckily, plenty of other things do seem to happen between our rankings and we’re never short of items.

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1. Connor Bedard’s consistency

Bedard didn’t have the start to the season that he or most people expected — and it has seemed difficult for him to shake that narrative — but his production over the last two-plus months has told a different story. In his last 31 games, he’s produced 30 points. He’s had 12 goals and 18 assists, including 11 primaries, in that span. His consistency has especially been notable. He hasn’t gone more than two games without a point and picked up at least a point in 23 of those 31 games.

He has a little work to do to get to a point-per-game rate for the season, but it’s not out of the question with 30 games to go. His current 0.865 points per game is 31st among all 19-year-olds to ever play in the NHL. He’s just behind Mark Messier (who we will have more on later), Patrick Kane and Joe Sakic.

Plus, Bedard somehow scored on this shot.

Oh my, what a shot by Connor Bedard. Wow. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/XJgGF087j9

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 29, 2025

2. Nick Lardis’ goal streak

Outside of Bedard, Lardis has the makings to be the most pure goal scorer in the pipeline. He’s elevated his offensive game to another level this season, especially as of late. With four more goals on Sunday, his fourth hat trick of the season, he has scored in 10 consecutive games for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL. If you’re curious, Bedard once had a goal streak of 11 games in his final season in the WHL.

As for Lardis, his overall points streak is at 11 games and he has 16 goals and seven assists in that span. He has also recently created some separation between himself and Michael Misa, an expected top-five 2025 draft pick, for the OHL lead in goals. Lardis has 48 goals in 47 games and Misa 40 in 44.

Lardis is already signed for next season and could join the Rockford IceHogs for the playoffs, but that will likely depend on how far Brantford goes in the OHL playoffs and potentially the Memorial Cup.

3. Seth Jones’ rebound

Jones laughed when it was pointed out to him in Raleigh that he had two goals and seven assists in six games since the Calgary game — “the infamous Calgary game,” he interjected with a wry chuckle. That game, in which Jones was a minus-4 and was booed off the ice by the home fans, seemed to mark a low point in Jones’ tenure in Chicago, if not his career.

But it’s starting to look like the turning point, as he’s been dynamite ever since at both ends of the ice. Even with how lopsided the Florida game was, the Blackhawks have outscored opponents 8-3 at five-on-five with Jones on the ice since the Flames game, all against playoff teams. While there might be some mild interest in Jones around the league, it’s still far more likely he stays in Chicago, which is unlikely to want to eat half his salary for the next five seasons. If he keeps playing like this, nobody will be complaining about that contract — especially with the cap skyrocketing the next few years.

4. Landon Slaggert’s record goal

Slaggert loves a day game. “Not much time to lay around,” he said. “Just get right to it.” And did he ever on Saturday in Florida, scoring just seven seconds into the game for the earliest goal in Blackhawks history. He did it with what’s already becoming his patented burst of speed, exploding through the Panthers defense and taking a Ryan Donato feed to the net.

Slaggert’s speed — and just as importantly, his hustle — has made him a standout in his three games since getting called up and earned him a promotion to Bedard’s line during the game on Saturday. Maybe he’s more than just a bottom-six energy guy and penalty killer after all. It’s always folly to compare players, especially those with so few NHL games to their credit, but Slaggert seems to have a little Brandon Hagel in him. The Blackhawks have been missing that since, well, trading Hagel.

“He clears a lot of space,” coach Anders Sorensen said when asked why Slaggert got bumped up. “A lot of good stuff on the forecheck and retrieving pucks. The second and third effort to win those pucks are crucial, and he does a lot of that.”

5. Ryan Donato’s trade value

Donato was barely on any of the NHL insiders’ trade boards, if at all, when speculation first began about the deadline. As of late, though, he’s been moving up those lists. His season has helped that. He’s been one of the Blackhawks’ most consistent players and he’s producing at a higher rate than ever before. He’s one goal shy of his previous season best. As time has gone on, Donato has seemingly become among the best players still available at the deadline.

With the recent surge of trades, Donato sits sixth on Chris Johnston’s latest trade board. We’ll see whether that equates to more than a third- or fourth-round pick, but there should be some interest in Donato in the coming weeks.

6. Ryan Greene’s expected arrival

The Blackhawks’ motivation to trade Donato and Taylor Hall is largely because they need to open some roster spots. They’re expecting at least a couple college prospects to turn pro after their seasons and jump straight to the NHL. Ryan Greene, a junior at Boston University, is expected to be one of them. He is building some momentum late into his season, too. Since Dec. 29, he’s produced six goals and seven assists in eight games for the Terriers. For the season, he has 11 goals and 15 assists in 26 games.

How far BU goes in the NCAA tournament will likely determine how quickly the Blackhawks attempt to sign Greene. BU was ranked 10th in the USCHO.com poll last week. Greene is projected as a potential third-line center with some offense and defense to his game.

7. Tanks for nothing

You can probably pencil in the Blackhawks as having the second-best draft lottery odds this spring. Ahead of them, the Nashville Predators have been righting the ship a bit, albeit too little, too late for a playoff push. Behind them, the San Jose Sharks are in full-blown tank mode, having traded their No. 1 goaltender to Colorado in December and leading scorer Mikael Granlund to Dallas on Saturday. The Blackhawks likely aren’t catching Nashville and they aren’t “catching” San Jose, either. That means a top-four pick is a near certainty for the Blackhawks.

8. Nick Foligno’s folly

On one hand, it’s admirable that Nick Foligno is still trying to spark this team any way he possibly can, and his defense of old-school values — hard work, playing with “snarl” and not diving — is something a young team needs. On the other hand, Foligno’s mocking of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov earned him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top of the initial tripping call he got when Kaprizov hit the deck, and the Wild scored what proved to be the game-winner during that second penalty.

On the other other hand, it was funny as hell. That’s gotta count for something, right?

Nick Foligno gets two for holding and two for unsportsmanlike conduct. pic.twitter.com/0DWukbyK9x

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 27, 2025

9. Mark Messier’s take

Move over Jeremy Roenick, there’s another old guy complaining about a 19-year-old on the air. Messier took shots at both Bedard and Sorensen during the ABC broadcast of Saturday’s games. Messier didn’t like how Bedard didn’t battle Florida’s Sam Reinhart hard enough on Reinhart’s first-period goal.

And, hey, he’s right. Bedard indeed did not battle Reinhart hard enough on that play. Not even close. But Messier got awfully melodramatic, calling for Sorensen to bench the only player on his team who consistently provides any offense whatsoever.

“The excuses for a young player are over now,” Messier said. “He has to be better than that. Sure enough, they get a power play and who goes right on the ice? Bedard. There’s no quicker way to destroy the morale of a team than to have players that don’t earn their ice time — and when a player makes a conscious choice to be soft on the puck. In that situation right there, there has to be consequences and if there aren’t, it’ll destroy the morale of the team.”

Not only is that spoken like a player who never once in his career had to play on a team like these Blackhawks and shoulder the offensive burden that Bedard shoulders — at any age, let alone 19 — it’s spoken like a player who has no understanding of the current locker-room dynamic in Chicago. Messier is implying that Bedard’s teammates don’t (or won’t) respect him, and will crumble if he’s not benched for his sins. Neither is true. The Blackhawks know and have come to terms with what they are, and they know what they have in Bedard — a kid who outworks just about everybody on the team, is facing expectations and pressures that most teenagers can’t fathom, and is trying his best.

Bedard has improved significantly defensively since last season, and, yes, there’s still a whole lot to learn and plenty of room to grow. Benching him won’t get him there or relieve him of the onus of carrying a team at 19. Having Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson and Paul Coffey on his team might.

10. CHSN, again

What else is there to say about CHSN at this point? It sounds like CHSN is still holding out hope for a deal with Comcast, but there is no real indication anything is coming. The Blackhawks winning would do wonders for the network, but that doesn’t seem to be on the horizon anytime soon. There has to be some real fear of the long-term effects for the franchise of not having its games easily accessible to fans. People not watching equals people not caring.

(Photo of Ryan Donato and Connor Bedard: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)