Frank Nazar signed a seven-year contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks after just 56 NHL games played. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
NHLI via Getty Images
As the NHL experiences a period of unprecedented salary-cap growth, the summer of 2025 has been whisper-quiet in terms of both player movement and big contract announcements. In this environment, it was huge news when the Chicago Blackhawks announced on Thursday that they’ve signed center Frank Nazar to a seven-year contract extension.
Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a cap hit of just under $6.6 million and a total value of nearly $46.2 million. Nazar, 21, has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, so the new deal will take effect in the 2026-27 season.
“Frank elevated his game last season and has proven himself to be one of the top young talents in the league,” said Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson in a statement on Thursday. “He drives play using his elite speed and playmaking abilities, creating problems for opponents and opportunities for teammates every night.”
Since the dust settled from free agency after Nikolaj Ehlers inked his six-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 3, Nazar’s contract is just the second contract signed by a non-arbitration-eligible player that carries a term of four years or more. The other was Jackson Blake’s contract with the Hurricanes — an eight-year deal with a cap hit of just over $5.1 million.
Like Nazar, Blake was an NHL rookie last season, so he’ll play out the last year of his entry-level contract before his new deal takes effect in the fall of 2026. A fourth-round pick by Carolina in 2021, Blake exceeded expectations by establishing himself as an NHL regular in 2024-25, amassing 17 goals and 34 points in 80 games at right wing. He also chipped in six points in 15 playoff games, giving Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky enough of a sample size to make a long-term commitment.
Two other young forwards also signed contract extensions when they became eligible on July 1. Logan Stankoven inked an eight-year deal at a cap hit of $6 million with the Hurricanes, and William Eklund chose a three-year bridge deal with the San Jose Sharks at $5.6 million.
Nazar’s deal comes with just 56 games of NHL experience. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that it’s the largest dollar-value contract ever for a player with so few games played, eclipsing Kirill Kaprizov’s five-year, $45-million contract signed after he put up 51 points in 55 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
In 2021, Kirill Kaprizov signed a $45 million contract with the Minnesota Wild after just 55 NHL games played. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
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That’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, however. Kaprizov had already played pro for several years in Russia before joining the Wild as a 23-year-old, and earned his $9 million cap hit after winning the 2021 Calder Trophy. Also, at that time, the salary cap was stuck at $81.5 million, so Kaprizov’s contract represented just over 11 percent of Minnesota’s cap space in the 2021-22 season.
When Nazar’s deal begins in 2026, the cap ceiling will eclipse $100 million for the first time, reaching $104 million. So, his $6.6 million will be just 6.3 percent of Chicago’s available cap space at that time.
Still, it’s a hefty commitment to a player who started last season in the American Hockey League. Drafted 13th overall in 2022, the speedy Detroit native was called up by the Blackhawks in mid-December, shortly after his Rockford Ice Hogs coach Anders Sorenson replaced Luke Richardson behind the Chicago bench.
“I texted him congratulations, and he texted me right after: ‘It was a great time in Rockford’ – stuff like that – and ‘we’ll see you soon,’” Nazar said. “It was really cool to see him say something like that, and I know that he knows what I bring to the table.”
Month by month, his role increased. By March, he was averaging 17 minutes a game, and he finished the season with five goals and four assists in Chicago’s last eight games.
His stock has risen more during the off-season. In May, Nazar and Logan Cooley of the Utah Mammoth co-led Team USA with 12 points in 10 games each as they helped their country capture its first gold medal since 1933.
That performance helped earn both players invites to next week’s U.S. Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp, a two-day administrative and team-building event in Plymouth, Mich.
If all goes well, Nazar and Connor Bedard will form a one-two punch down the middle for the rebuilding Blackhawks for years to come. Bedard, the first-overall pick in the 2023 draft, is also extension-eligible this summer. He has not yet put pen to paper, but told The Athletic in June that a new deal wasn’t a worry for him.
“We have a great relationship and everyone knows I want to be a Hawk as long as I’m playing,” said Bedard. “And I know they appreciate me and want me with the team. Once you know that, there’s no stress or anything about that. Whether it’s done next week or during the year or at the end of the year, that doesn’t stress me out too much.”
The list of other young stars who are extension-eligible and haven’t signed new deals yet also includes Cooley and 2025 rookie of the year Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens.
And while Frank Nazar is now locked up through 2033, hockey fans around the league continue to wait on news of contract extensions for the league’s biggest stars who can become unrestricted free agents on July 1, 2026. Kaprizov is on that list, along with Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights, Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers and many others.