Blackhawks 2024-25 NHL Season Betting Preview: Points Total, Player Futures Odds and Predictions

We are 31 days from the NHL's opening night on Oct. 8. The daily NHL picks will return once the season starts, but leading up to the big day I'll preview some future bets for every team in the league. The first edition of this series was released yesterday when we broke down some futures for Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks.

The Blackhawks nearly had a one-two punch down the middle of Connor Bedard and Celebrini. They finished second to the Sharks in the standings and didn't win the draft lottery to move up to Celebrini. They took Artyom Levshunov second overall, who signed his entry-level deal this offseason to leave Michigan State University and fight for a spot on the Blackhawks' blue line.

The Blackhawks finished the season with a 23-53-6 record. Their plan to surround Bedard with veterans backfired when Taylor Hall went down for the season early, and Bedard also missed time with a broken jaw. The Blackhawks now have more rookies joining the fold, with Frank Nazar and possibly Levshunov playing in 2024-25.

Let's look at two futures bets for the Sharks and their players in 2024-25.

Chicago Blackhawks Future Bets for 2024-25 Season

• Connor Bedard UNDER 34.5 Goals

• UNDER 74.5 Regular Season Points

Connor Bedard UNDER 34.5 Goals

This pick may not be popular amongst Blackhawks fans, but it'll be difficult for Bedard to increase his scoring this much. Bedard had 22 goals in 68 games last season, meaning he would've had to score a goal-per-game over the 14 games he missed to hit this number. Bedard will be an elite scorer in this league, but it'll be difficult for him to do it until he has more help around him.

The Blackhawks added Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen to play alongside Bedard this season. It's a small improvement over his linemates from last season, but neither player is an elite playmaker. Teravainen had a chance to play with some elite scorers in Carolina but had back-to-back below-average seasons with just 37 and 53 points. Bertuzzi will go to the net and protect Bedard on the ice, but he won't feed him many backdoor tap-ins.

Bedard will one day be a 40 or 50-goal scorer, but I don't see it happening this season. Let's not forget he is still only 19.

UNDER 74.5 Regular Season Points

The oddsmakers have the Blackhawks improving by 23 points this upcoming season, which doesn't make much sense when looking at their roster. The additions of Bertuzzi and Teravainen don't move the needle enough, and their backend signings of Alec Martinez and TJ Brodie won't either.

The biggest issue for the Blackhawks is their goaltending situation. They added Laurent Brossoit to battle for the starting goaltender position and give more depth than Arvid Soderblom did last season. However, Mrazek was okay this past season considering what he had in front of him, meaning Brossoit won't be that much of an upgrade. The only big difference in signing Brossoit is that Mrazek won't have to play as many games.

The Blackhawks should improve from their abysmal play last season, but not by 23 points.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.