It’s a tale as old as time: as the Chicago Blackhawks improve on the ice, players on upward trajectories are due for bigger contracts. Forward Oliver Moore is the latest.
Moore, 21, and the Blackhawks agreed to a five-year, $21.25 million extension ($4.25M AAV) that kicks in next season. He was set to become a restricted free agent next offseason.
He joins teammate Connor Bedard, who received his big payday over the summer and signed a five-year, $75 million deal. Forward Frank Nazar and goaltender Spencer Knight also received long-term extensions within the last year.
It’s savvy business from general manager Kyle Davidson to get the deal across the goal line just five days before the opening of the 2026-27 season. Moore is coming off his full rookie season last year that saw him play a majority of his first professional games with the Blackhawks — 51 in the NHL and nine in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs.
He also played nine games with the Blackhawks at the end of the 2024-25 season upon the completion of his college career. In the 2025-26 campaign, Moore played just about everywhere in the lineup, from the top line to the fourth line and on both special teams units. He scored five goals and tallied 19 points before his season was cut short due to a lower-body injury.
Among qualified Blackhawks forwards on the ice at 5-on-5 last season, Moore ranked third in Corsi-For percentage (47.1), sixth in Shots-For percentage (44.97), and led the team in Expected Goals-For percentage (48.01).
The other first-round pick from the Blackhawks’ 2023 NHL Draft class — when Chicago selected Bedard with the first overall pick — Moore is expected to be a key piece of the Blackhawks’ future core, playing a versatile role around the lineup and starting this season as part of both the power-play and penalty-killing units.
Signing Moore now shrinks the Blackhawks’ upcoming RFA class, which included defensemen Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, and forward Ryan Greene. While Moore wasn’t expected to be the highest-paid of that pending RFA group, getting his deal done at a reasonable dollar amount should considerably aid Davidson’s long-term financial plans in the hunt to bring a contender to Chicago again.
