** NHLRumors.com transcription
“First of all, no, not a concern. Were Toronto Maple Leaf fans concerned when Auston Matthews signed a five-year contract following the withdrawal of his entry-level contract? No.
Two. I think it also depends, Nathan, on when Connor Bedard signs his deal. If he waits until after July 1, and there is of course still plenty of time in between. But if he waits until after July 1, the maximum number of years for which he can sign will be reduced to seven, according to the changes in the collective labor agreement. So it changes the specter of that somewhat. An eight-year deal should be completed before the calendar turns to July 1.
NHL Rumors: Penguins, Maple Leafs and the Kings
And more than that, I just think the salary cap environment is changing. I don’t think anything has been decided in terms of term or dollars. When it comes to Connor Bedard, there are some nice additional awards set, which I think are huge. Getting that Logan Cooley deal done, also the third-largest entry-level contract ever, is another very important data point.
Considering where Conor Bedard is in his career, perhaps the only other interesting data point would be if they again waited until After July 1 and Macklin Celebrini signed his next contract first. But other than that, I think the Hawks and Bedard camp have pretty much all the data they need to get a deal done.
But neither side is really in a hurry to do that. And I don’t think this should be seen in a negative light. They just take their time. He’s playing on the entry-level deal. There’s no reason to rush, so they dig around and see how things are going.
The two sides have remained in communication. It’s not like they put it on ice and said, ‘Hey, we’ll wait until the season is over.’ But as far as I know, and I’ve checked this file over the last few days, they haven’t had any substantive conversations lately.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumors overviews and hot topics from around the league. We also post some stuff Instagram.
#NHL #Rumors #Chicago #Blackhawks #Connor #Bedard