Ahead of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Chicago Blackhawks’ general manager Kyle Davidson indicated the organization saw Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar as their No. 1 and No. 2 centers of the future. But that was way back in June, well before the 2025-26 campaign even started. While these two young superstars did start the season as the top two centers, they both were injured around the same time, forcing the Blackhawks to look at other options down the middle.
With numerous young prospects coming in and finding their stride, it’s unclear whether Davidson’s statement still holds true. If nothing else, it’s given other’s an opportunity to make a case for themselves. Let’s look at the current options at center for the Blackhawks, and how this might play out moving forward.
Greene’s Versatility
Let’s start with the player that’s surprised everyone, Ryan Greene. The 22-year-old was a bubble player to start the season, but due to injuries he made the opening night roster and never looked back. He started the season on the fourth line, but his two-way play and affinity for winning faceoffs impressed head coach Jeff Blashill. Not only that; but he built some chemistry with Bedard, who was often double shifting on Greene’s line.
By the end of October, Greene was playing wing on the top line alongside Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. When Bedard went out with his shoulder injury and the Blackhawks lost Nazar just four games later, Blashill was forced to experiment with what could be optimal lines without his two star players.
After a few games of shuffling, Greene found himself playing top line center. Yep, bubble player to No. 1 center within the span of a few months. It sure is funny how these things work! In six games with this deployment, Greene averaged a healthy 18 minutes of ice time and contributed 15 shots on goal, 27 shot attempts and three assists, two of them being primary. He also won 52-of-96 faceoffs, for a 54% success rate.
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So, should Greene play center or wing upon Bedard’s return? Coach Blashill was asked that very question ahead of the contest versus the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 7.
He’s a very capable center, and I think a good center. He’s definitely a good faceoff guy. I think the one thing with him is his versatility. He doesn’t look any necessarily better or worse at center than wing, and so that’s a positive thing, to be able to then move him to different lines. Some guys play exponentially better when they play center. Ryan kind of plays the same regardless of playing center or wing. So, we’ll see when Connor gets back, what the lines look like. So that’s probably still undetermined. But for Ryan, I think that versatility is going to really help him.
Moore Better at Center Than Wing
When Oliver Moore played for the Rockford IceHogs at the beginning of the season, and after he was called up to the Blackhawks on Nov. 3, he played on the wing. The organization seemed to envision him as a winger, despite him playing center most of his life and most recently at the University of Minnesota.
When he was first called up, he was eased into the lineup on the third line, but then by mid-November placed alongside Nazar on the second line. The idea was for Moore and Nazar’s speed to complement each other. As the two speedsters were just starting to build some decent chemistry, Nazar got hit in the face with a puck on Dec. 20.
Then Blashill experimented with an all-rookie line of Nick Lardis, Greene and Moore. But while the three youngsters had a great comfort level together, they really needed a veteran component to drive play. Enter Teuvo Teravainen, and moving Moore to the center position. This Teravainen-Moore-Lardis line was first deployed on Dec. 30 against the New York Islanders.
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It worked out probably better than anyone even expected! Moore provided the primary assists on a goal by Teravainen and a goal by Lardis (albeit a power play goal). The 20-year-old also won 8-of-11 faceoffs for a 73% success rate. Said Blashill postgame,
It was the best game Ollie’s played, for sure. Hands down. Was it because we moved him to center? Maybe. He looked like a real confident, kind of almost different player out there to me. His speed in the middle. He’s had a hard time on the wing, finding how to use the speed, like when to slow down and then hit the hole with speed. At center, it’s a little bit easier. It’s a little more natural to him. He’s played a lot of center his whole life, and played center in Minnesota. So as we kind of talked through some things we were talking about, learning how to hit holes as a winger, and honestly, it just made me think that; let’s give him a shot at center there. And I thought he did a real good job overall.
Moore’s been playing center ever since, and winning faceoffs at a 48.8% clip. It sounds like Blashill wants to keep him there, at least for the foreseeable future. Before the Blackhawks hosted the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 7, Blashill expanded on Moore playing best down the middle,
Ollie, without question, knows how to utilize his speed better in the middle than as a winger. He’s more natural as a center that way. And it doesn’t mean he can’t learn how to utilize it as a wing, but he just hits holes better as a center. As a center, you got to slow yourself down a little bit and then hit the hole with speed. Whereas a winger, he was kind of skating so fast all the time that he wasn’t able to hit those holes. And so, I’ve liked him at center. I think he’s highly competitive. He’s strong down low. Obviously, he’s fast and quick enough to play with any other center, or play against any other center. So I think we’ll see. Hopefully you have too many centers. That’s a good problem. But he definitely looks like somebody who, so far, for me, has been exponentially better at center.
Just think; if Bedar and Nazar hadn’t been injured around the same time, the Blackhawk’s might have never realized this untapped potential in Moore. Now it could actually be a good problem to have moving forward.
Dickinson the Perfect Shutdown Center
Two rookies have shown their prowess at the center position, but veteran Jason Dickinson is arguably the best shutdown center on the team. He’s a defense-first forward and has always been good at winning faceoffs. He’s taken the most faceoffs on the team in the defensive zone (77.1%), and his 49% success rate at the dot is certainly nothing to scoff at.
Dickinson has the capacity to play among the top-six forwards, but even he admits he’s most comfortable with his shutdown role. This makes him a perfect third or even fourth line center.
Let’s also remember that Dickinson is in the last year of his current contract. With all the youngsters coming into their own, it’s very likely the Blackhawks won’t re-sign him. He could even be moved at the trade deadline in early March. Thinking ahead, this could be a position filled by Greene in the future.
But for now, he’s a no-brainer as one of the Blackhawks’ depth centers.
Other Options at Center for the Blackhawks
Nick Foligno and Ryan Donato could both play center if needed, and they have at certain points throughout the season. Case in point; Foligno is currently serving as the team’s fourth line center. He’s taken the fifth most faceoffs on the team (233) and has won 51.5% of them.
Donato is sixth on the team with 201 draws, winning 51.2% of them.
Dach has taken just 70 draws and won 37.1 of them, although he’s still a last-minute option if needed.
But it’s safe to say that all three of these players can be just as effective on the wing; likely even more effective.
Nazar’s Deployment When He Returns
Now that we’ve covered the options without Bedard and Nazar, let’s return to Bedard and Nazar. Nazar was looking strong as the second line center before he was injured. He can definitely handle the responsibility and drive play. His overall faceoff percentage is at a 43.1% success rate, but that has increased as the season has gone along.
The Blackhawks originally gave a timeline of one month for Nazar’s injury. He’s been seen on the ice before practices wearing a full face shield, and Blashill recently said he’s on track in his recovery. That would put Nazar’s return somewhere around the week of Jan. 19, with up to nine games for him to contribute before the Olympic break.
Before Moore showed his prowess at center, I would’ve said Nazar would return to the center position with Moore on his wing. But now it can be argued Moore should play at center. Plus, Moore and Lardis have built some good chemistry together.
Obviously, Blashill still has a little time to assess the situation before Nazar returns.
Bedard’s Faceoff Status on Hold
Finally, let’s discuss Bedard. He returned to action on Jan. 9 versus the Washington Capitals, after 12 games out. For this contest, Blashill wanted to ease Bedard back in. He started him on the left wing with rookies Moore and Lardis. But as the game went along, he deployed Bedard on the top line with Greene and Burakovsky as had been done in the past. The only difference was that Greene was at center and Bedard on the wing. Bedard didn’t take a single faceoff the entire game.
Postgame, Blashill indicated Bedard will not take faceoffs for the “foreseeable future”. Obviously, the Blackhawks are still cognizant of Bedard’s shoulder injury, so don’t want him taking any draws yet. Surprisingly, the 20-year-old has been much better at the dot than last season, sporting a 47% success rate versus a meagre 38.2% in the 2024-25 campaign.
Versus the Nashville Predators on Jan. 10, Bedard was listed as the top line center, but he once again didn’t take any faceoffs. It also seemed like Greene was playing down the middle most of the game.
It’s unknown when Bedard will be able to take faceoffs again. This will be something to monitor, as well as how this affects Greene’s deployment at either center or wing.
Final Thoughts on the Blackhawks’ Center Situation & Forward Line Deployment
Again, having numerous players who can line up at center is a good problem to have. But it will be interesting to see just how this all plays out moving forward. Here’s my best guess of the forward lines over the next handful of games, with Nazar still missing. This is also based on what the lineup was for the most recent game versus the Predators.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Moore-Lardis
Donato-Foligno-Slaggert/Dach
In this scenario, Greene is technically the first line center, taking all the faceoffs. When Bedard is cleared to take faceoffs again, Greene could very easily stay on that top line as the wing. After all, Blashill indicated Greene has that versatility, and the trio of Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky has done well together.
Once Nazar returns, I’m guessing we might see the center deployment and forward lines looking more like this.
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Moore-Lardis
Donato-Dickinson-Foligno
Extras: Slaggert, Dach
Or, if Blashill wants to keep Nazar and Moore together, we could get a little crazy with Nazar on the wing. Why not try it?!
Greene-Bedard-Burakovsky
Nazar-Moore-Lardis
Bertuzzi-Dickinson-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Foligno-Donato
Extras: Slaggert, Dach
A line of Nazar-Moore-Lardis could be quite dynamic! But the previously listed forward lines with Moore as the third line center seems like it might provide more balance.
Either way, there are plenty of options. It should be fun to see how the Blackhawks’ center deployment and forward lines evolve with the entire lineup healthy (fingers crossed).
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What are your ideas about who fits best down the middle, and the deployment of the Blackhawks’ forward lines? Are Bedard and Nazar truly the best options as the top two centers? Or could other players be better fits? Either way, we’ll find out soon enough as the rest of the season unfolds.
But the reality is this is an awfully good problem to have.
