NHL analyst debates whether Chicago Blackhawks were right to extend young star

Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times pondered whether this would be a bargain or a bust of a contract. On the one hand, if Frank Nazar continues to improve, it will be a bargain. But with 53 games and 26 points only under his belt, there’s a risk that he doesn’t reach that level, and it becomes a bust.

“If Nazar has a breakout season this coming year, which definitely seems possible, it could end up being a bargain. From his standpoint, it sounded like he… he is a very confident guy, he talked about how he always believes that he’s the best going into every day. Following that logic out, he would expect to have a great season,” he said.

“So for him, it was probably a little bit of a decision on whether to gamble on himself and raise his value this coming year or just take what’s basically a life-changing amount of money locked in guaranteed essentially and then just be able to focus on hockey.”

Nazar admitted that was why it took him so long to decide this summer, because he would go back and forth on whether or not he wanted to bet on himself further. Clearly, he decided to take the money that was being offered to him then and there. “It is a little bit interesting,” Pope added, “that it came now. I think the prevailing logic was that it was more likely to be next summer.”

He and Connor Bedard would’ve been up for extensions in 2026, but that would’ve made things very different, and the money that the Blackhawks offered Nazar was clearly enough to go ahead and sign rather than wait.