CHICAGO (AP) — As far as Frank Nazar is concerned, everything is pretty much the same. He wants to get better, and he wants to win.
Speaking a day after agreeing to a contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nazar insisted he's the same guy.
“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 Friday, “and 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."
Nazar's $46.2 million, seven-year extension begins with the 2026-27 season, and it stamps the flashy forward as part of the core of a Chicago team trying to climb out of the NHL basement. The Blackhawks went 25-46-11 last season and finished last in the Central Division for the third straight year.
Nazar, a Detroit native who turns 22 in January, could have played this season and set himself up for a more lucrative contract next summer. While the supremely confident Nazar believes he is primed for a big year, he also liked the option of a long-term deal in a situation that works for him.
“It wasn’t hard when you put all that stuff together to look at it in the long run,” he said, “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.”
Nazar was selected by Chicago with the No. 13 pick in the 2022 draft. He made his NHL debut on April 14, 2024, scoring on his first shot on goal in a 4-2 loss to Carolina.
Nazar began last season in the minors, but he was brought up in December. He had 12 goals and 14 assists in 53 games with the Blackhawks.
He said he is staying with his usual preparations as he goes into this season.
“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.”
Nazar really seemed to find his game at the end of last season, collecting five goals and four assists in his last eight games. Then he helped the U.S. win the world hockey championship for the first time since 1933.
He has been invited to next week's Olympic orientation camp in Michigan, making him a candidate for the U.S. team for the 2026 Games.
“I learned a lot from world championships and from the guys that I played with,” he said. “Such high-end talent and high-end names, and, I mean, when you play with a team that close and just that talented and us being able to put so much together, it’s truly special and that’s what I want to bring to Chicago and to the team here.”
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