Frank Nazar is in the middle of talking about what it meant to have the trust of the Chicago Blackhawks’ coaching staff this season when he lets out a knowing chuckle.
The laugh comes as he’s explaining the importance of this particular off-season. “This summer is extremely important and going to be a good summer to fine-tune things and get better all around,” Nazar said. “The goal is then to come in next year and help the younger guys that are there and try to lead by example.”
Pause. Timeout. The younger guys?
Younger than whom, exactly? Because Nazar is not a grizzled vet but rather a fresh-faced 22-year-old with all of 122 big-league games to his name. “No, I know!
It does sound ridiculous,” he said. “Technically, two years – two years and a three-game span – that’s going to be old on our team.”
In fairness, Nazar’s not exactly wrong. In Chicago’s season-ender, a win over San Jose, he was older than nearly one-third of Blackhawks skaters, a group that included Connor Bedard and Anton Frondell. And there’s an honest possibility the number of players in Chicago’s lineup who are Nazar’s junior could increase at the start of next season, with the likes of Roman Kantserov, Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker among the roster hopefuls.
And maybe in his mind, and the minds of others, Nazar seems a bit further along in his career than he actually is. After all, there aren’t many players with his resume who’ve already inked a seven-year extension, let alone one valued at nearly $46.2 million.
Indeed, when Nazar, the 13th overall pick in 2022, signed a long-term extension last August, he did so having played in 56 NHL games. That’s one more game than Wild star Kirill Kaprizov had played before he signed a big-money bridge deal in Minnesota. It’s two more than Mattias Samuelsson had played before the Buffalo Sabres bet big on the blueliner.
Comparisons aside, it’s few enough games that, were he anyone else, Nazar might be feeling pressure to perform or the weight of expectation.
Ask Nazar, though, and the contract exists neither as a motivator nor a burden. Sure, he wants to prove he’s worth every penny and more. Yes, he understands that such a signing is rare.
But none of it bothers him.
“Really, I try not to focus too much on that,” he said. “If I did want to focus a lot on that, I would have played this whole year and waited to sign. The way guys are signing now, I could have signed for more or tried to push for more, you know?
But like I said, I like to focus more on the long scheme of things. I want to win.”
Make no mistake, if the Blackhawks are going to capital-’W’ win, Nazar is going to be at the heart of that success. He’s already proven he can be a shift-by-shift contributor, posting 12 goals and 26 points as a rookie and following it with 15 goals and 41 points in 66 games this season as a sophomore. But Nazar also spent the majority of his minutes playing down the middle and anchoring the second line.
In a sense, if Bedard has the superstar style, it’s Nazar – not short on flash of his own, mind you – who provides the substance.
That’s something Nazar showcased in his 21 games in the AHL before becoming a full-time big-leaguer in 2024-25, as he played in all situations and at all strengths for Chicago’s affiliate in Rockford. And that has continued in the NHL. Nazar ranked fifth among Hawks forwards in average ice time per game at even strength, third in PP average and fifth in shorthanded average.
Whereas some players his age talk about using the summer to build speed, strength or their shot, Nazar is more concerned with consistency, reads and further honing his on-ice smarts. “That’s a big thing that will keep guys in the league for a long time,” he said.
Nazar’s aim, too, is to be around a long time – not just in the league but in Chicago.
As he’s set to begin his seven-year deal, he’s already envisioning himself as a Blackhawk well into the future – even for the rest of his career. And while the first couple of those years haven’t quite gone as planned for the franchise, Nazar sees the foundation of something special. “To find a team where, maybe, things aren’t going exactly the way they want and everyone still stays so close, it’s pretty rare,” he said.
“That’s the chemistry and what we’re building here in Chicago. That goes to the GMs and everyone picking the right guys – guys who are not just good players but good off the ice. A lot of guys come in and fit in right away, and it’s been a lot of fun to play with all these guys.
I’m super excited. I know things will turn around, but when things turn around and are a little brighter, we’re going to have much more fun.”
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This article appeared in The Hockey News' Champions 2026 issue.
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