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  "path": "/2026/03/13/blackhawks-leadership-change-connor-bedard-tyler-bertuzzi-nick-foligno",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-13T21:56:33.451Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>LAS VEGAS — After one of Nick Foligno's last practices with the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks\" target=\"_blank\" >Blackhawks</a>, he pointed at an iPhone.</p><p>\"Because of these,\" Foligno said while gesturing, \"there's not a lot of <i>talking.</i>\"</p><p>Indeed, the Hawks had just spent much of the practice working on communication between forwards and defensemen on breakouts. Twenty years ago, that skill might've come to players more instinctively.</p><p>\"You used to meet at a coffee shop or bar, and everyone would be sitting and talking,\" Foligno added. \"Now you're sitting on your phone. There's a little bit of disconnect in the generation coming up.</p><p>\"But that doesn't mean [communication] can't be taught. It doesn't mean it's not a big part of the game. The teams that do it are the ones that are pretty successful. It's [about having] an understanding and an unselfishness to [think], 'OK, I've got to push myself in that direction.'\"</p><p>One week since Foligno, the world's most loquacious man, was <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/03/06/blackhawks-trade-deadline-reaction-run-by-kids-kyle-davidson-connor-bedard\" target=\"_blank\" >traded</a> — along with fellow veterans Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson and outspoken, mischievous youngster Colton Dach — the new vibe of the Hawks' locker room is still being sorted out.</p><p>\"'Fliggy' is very talkative, and once you don't have that, it's a stark contrast,\" Matt Grzelcyk said. \"It's not that everyone has to be talking every minute, but you [need to] pick up the slack a little bit here and there.\"</p><p>Said Frank Nazar: \"[I'm not] trying to think of the things that he says and say them. [I'm going to] just stick to saying what I say and being me, and other guys are going to do the same.\"</p><p>Grzelcyk, 32, is actually now the Hawks' oldest player, and his teammates have been playfully teasing him about it.</p><p>He's fairly quiet and private, though. He said he tries to \"lead by example\" — surely one of the most common refrains spoken across the league — but he's an unlikely candidate to step into Foligno's or even Murphy's shoes, leadership-wise.</p><div class=\"RelatedList Enhancement\" data-module data-align-center> <div class=\"RelatedList-title\">Related</div> <ul class=\"RelatedList-items\"> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/03/06/blackhawks-trade-deadline-reaction-run-by-kids-kyle-davidson-connor-bedard\" >Blackhawks run by kids now after trading entire leadership group: ‘It’s their locker room now’</a> </li> <li class=\"RelatedList-items-item\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2025/10/29/connor-bedard-blackhawks-voice-honest-kings-boring-macklin-celebrini\" >How did Blackhawks star Connor Bedard find his voice? By realizing it doesn’t matter what people think</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>If anyone, the Hawks' new rallier-of-men might be Tyler Bertuzzi.</p><p>He's an unconventional alternate captain, considering how much he dislikes interviews and other public-facing appearances. But he apparently showcases a radically different side of his personality when alone with his teammates, and coach Jeff Blashill unabashedly loves him.</p><p>\"He's a boisterous guy,\" Blashill said. \"You can hear his laugh from a mile away. He's a fun guy that way, and he won't change that, but he also isn't afraid to say when he thinks guys need to do things better, including himself.</p><p>\"The most important thing, when you get things like a letter put on you, is that you don't change who you are at all. Certainly, I didn't have to worry about that with him. One thing I know...is Tyler is going to be Tyler. And good for him.\"</p><p>On the ice, however, there's no doubt the Hawks' emotional leader is Connor Bedard. His off-the-charts competitiveness shined <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2026/03/13/blackhawks-mammoth-sweep-frank-nazar-connor-bedard-kevin-korchinski\" target=\"_blank\" >Thursday in Utah</a>, and he always seems to perform best when he's in that kind of fiery, venomous mood.</p><p>Is Bedard chatty like Foligno? Absolutely not. Is he, like most Gen Z kids, addicted to his phone? Probably. </p><p>But having matured significantly on and off the ice over the last three years, the 20-year-old seems qualified for the captaincy and prepared to push the Hawks forward in his own unique way.</p><p>Asked last week if he intended to step up as a leader in the wake of Foligno's departure while simultaneously staying true to his genuine self, Bedard had the perfect response ready: \"I think my genuine self is a leader.\"</p><p>The Hawks are also confident that more young leaders will emerge within their group as time progresses.</p><p>\"When others are leading, guys are going to follow suit,\" Blashill said. \"Then when those guys aren't there anymore, people step up into those leadership roles more easily.\"</p>",
  "title": "How the Blackhawks' leadership and vibe has changed without Nick Foligno",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-13T22:01:49.588Z"
}