The Chicago Blackhawks got one of their two young star forwards locked up for the long haul earlier this week, signing Frank Nazar to a seven-year, $46.2 million contract extension.
It's a historic deal for the sophomore, the largest contract ever inked by a player with his level of experience. Nazar has played in just 56 NHL games over two seasons, but now has stability in Illinois for the foreseeable future.
“I’m going to go into each season and, you know, each day thinking that I’m the best and just like believing in my process and what I can do,” Nazar said on Friday, per the Associated Press' Jay Cohen. “Honestly, I don’t really think anything changes for me. … I’m still super motivated and still want to be the best player I can be.”
The 21-year-old continued: “It wasn’t hard when you put all that stuff together to look at it in the long run, and see that, you know, I could be in Chicago for seven years and play with the team basically of my dreams, a team I want to be at and the city that I want to be at with a crew that you want to be with and players you want to be with. So it was an easy decision at the end.”
Selected by the Hawks with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Nazar ripped up the USHL as a member of the United States National Development Team, before spending a couple of productive seasons at the University of Michigan.
He earned a three-game NHL tryout in 2023-24 following his time as a Wolverine. He spent the beginning of last season with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, where he managed 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games.
Frank Nazar is a Blackhawks franchise cornerstone
Nazar's play earned him a call up in December, and he played 53 games for Chicago, chipping in 12 goals and 26 points. He was over a point-per-game player at the end of the campaign, earning nine points in his last eight games, helping him earn the lucrative contract.
“I think one thing that is pretty, pretty big for me that I like to focus on is just conditioning,” he said. “And being able to go out there and play a full game every minute, every shift and just be able to give it my all in all 82 games.”
With Nazar locked up, the Blackhawks should now have him and Connor Bedard to run the center position for years to come. Bedard remains without an extension — which he could have signed as early as July 1 — but as an RFA, it's likely only a matter of time before he is re-signed to a long-term deal.
Nazar's new contract all but confirms he will be a ringer on Chicago's roster for years to come. He's slated to begin the season on the top powerplay unit, alongside Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Donato and Sam Rinzel, per Daily Faceoff.
The outlet also has him centering the second line, with Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen on his wings.
Chicago is trying to climb out of the basement of the NHL after finishing 25-46-11 and last place in the Central Division for the third consecutive year in 2024-25.
It'll be interesting to see if Nazar can help the Hawks do just that, and return to the level that saw the Original Six franchise bring three Stanley Cups to the Windy City in a six-year span.
