Connor Bedard has just put his GM on the spot regarding Patrick Kane

The real story isn't the reunion - it's who he's pressuring to make it happen.

Bedard, fresh off a blockbuster extension and floated as Chicago's next captain, told reporters Kane would make the Blackhawks a way better team.

Chicago is coming off a 29-39-14 season and is still chasing its first playoff berth of the Bedard era.

He isn't wrong. But a cornerstone with that much locked-in capital doesn't lobby by accident.

The subtext everyone is skipping: Kyle Davidson traded Kane to the Rangers in 2023 to launch a clean rebuild, and his front office said it had moved on.

Now the face of that rebuild is publicly asking his GM to undo the defining move of it.

Bedard had shoulder surgery July 8 and won't return until around November.

If Kane signs, he wouldn't play a shift alongside Bedard for the first two months of the season.

Instead, Kane would be Chicago's engine during Bedard's absence, mentoring young centers like Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov.

Those are the kids Chicago actually needs Kane to raise.

By the time Bedard is back, Kane's role shrinks - the puck stops running through him.

This is a leverage story dressed as a nostalgia story. A 20-year-old just signed long term, and his first act with new weight is pushing the front office toward a 37-year-old the GM once discarded.

Chris Chelios says Kane's choice is down to Chicago or Buffalo. Davidson controls the other half.

Say yes, and he admits the clean break wasn't worth protecting. Say no, and he overrules the player he built everything around.

Every rebuilding team eventually faces this - when the star you drafted starts steering the plan you drafted him for.

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