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Around the NHL: Bedard excited for Blackhawks’ youth movement, Bettman won’t change playoff structure
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Photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jeremy Tingly
Mar 24, 2025, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 23, 2025, 22:24 EDT
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The 2024-25 NHL season is winding down, as most teams have just over 10 games remaining in their regular seasons. There’s plenty of buzz throughout the league with several teams in tight playoff races, as the scoreboard watching continues for many.
With just a week remaining in March, the NHL’s madness is just around the corner. Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Connor Bedard happy Blackhawks are embracing youth movement

The Chicago Blackhawks may be near the bottom of the Western Conference standings once again this season, but Connor Bedard is excited for what the future holds, and the fact the team is ‘letting the kids play’.
The Blackhawks have a ton of young talent on their NHL roster and GM Kyle Davidson is currently letting them make a difference. Bedard spoke to NHL.com’s Tracey Myers and admitted he’s loving being surrounded by some of the organization’s best prospects. “Yeah, big time. You’re seeing guys come up and make a difference,” Bedard said recently.
Chicago recently recalled 2024 second-overall pick Artyom Levshunov, and the young right-handed defenceman has played very well in his first exposure to the national league.
“He comes up, and he looks great,” Bedard said. “You can see why he is projected to be what he is, and that’s exciting. He makes that pass, and you can see his hockey IQ. You can definitely see the future of him being a No. 1 guy.”
Bedard hit the 20-goal mark over the weekend, a season where he’s dealt with a lot of adversity on and off the ice. The Blackhawks’ phenom is hoping he and the team can finish out the season strong.
“I know what I’m trying to do right now is not be so focused on results and just know we’re young, we’re trying to get better, and just have fun” Bedard said. “It’s a great group of guys, and we have, what, three weeks left? So just have fun, enjoy it, and do the best you can. Obviously, you’re trying to win every game, and you want to win, but we’re going to try to play the best we can.”

Devils’ Sheldon Keefe rips into defenceman Jonathan Kovacevic

The New Jersey Devils have had a very hard time holding onto leads of late, and enter the week 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. Former Maple Leafs‘ coach, and current Devils’ bench boss Sheldon Keefe didn’t mince words over the weekend, calling out defenceman Jonathan Kovacevic, who is currently struggling:
Kovacevic was asked about his team stumbling into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Devils have a six-point lead on the New York Rangers for third spot in the Metropolitan Division. “We have a pretty home-heavy schedule the rest of the way here (and) we’ve got to make this place a hard place to play,” the defenseman told reporters postgame.
“That’s something that we want to take pride in. We’re in a fight, and hopefully that gets us in that playoff mentality (with) 10, 11 games out, and we carry that into the playoffs,” Kovacevic continued. “So obviously the results (lately) are tough, but we’re in a fight here and we’re not going to back down.”

Gary Bettman has no plans to change playoff format or extend overtime

While there’s been some chatter about teams pushing for some changes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and regular season overtime format, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman isn’t budging.
Bettman spoke to reporters last week, and emphasized everything is standing pat for now. “You guys know I’m pretty dug in on this. I like exactly what we have, and if you look at the races that we’re having for the regular season, (the) playoffs have started already. We’re in our ‘play-in tournament.”
There’s been plenty of criticism over the years about how the playoff format is structured, but Bettman thinks in order to win the Stanley Cup, the best team has to go through a tough road regardless. “Best team to win the Cup has got to get through the best teams,” he said. “And you know what? Having great matchups in the first round, that’s terrific. That’s not a problem, that’s a great thing.”
As far as the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime is concerned, at this time, don’t expect to see it move to 10 minutes, or have any adjustments for that matter. “I’m not a fan of the (idea of an) extended overtime because of ice conditions and the wear and tear on the players who would be playing the additional five minutes, and I worry about that in (terms of) injuries,” Bettman said.

Quick hits from around the NHL:

  • The Montreal Canadiens have become the surprise story of the 2024-25 season, and head coach Martin St. Louis is liking what he’s seeing from his group. “We have a very confident group right now,” St. Louis said, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. “I found we came in waves in the third. It wasn’t just one line. We came in waves, and I think we gave them trouble.”
  • Vancouver Canucks’ forward Elias Pettersson left Saturday’s game against J.T Miller and the New York Rangers with an undisclosed injury. No word yet on timelines for him returning to action.
  • Chicago Blackhawks’ veteran forward Pat Maroon announced via a pre-game interview he’s retiring at the end of this season. Maroon is a three-time Stanley Cup champion.
  • Canucks’ goaltender Thatcher Demko returned to practice on Sunday and his return to Vancouver’s crease appears imminent.
  • Detroit Red Wings’ defenceman Erik Gustaffson is expected to be out for the season with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to welcome back both Sean Monahan and Erik Gudbranson to action this week. The Blue Jackets sit four points out of a playoff spot with 13 games remaining.
  • Canucks’ grinder Kiefer Sherwood set the NHL record for most hits in a single season landing his 384th hit of the year against the Rangers on Saturday.
  • Predators’ head coach Andrew Brunette called out Nashville’s leadership group before their game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Brunette told reporters “we never want to be here again but, when we are here, we have to handle ourselves with a little bit more professionalism than we are right now.”

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