Chicago Blackhawks dealt devastating blow with Connor Bedard expected to miss start of season

It’s the middle of the summer, which means there isn’t a ton of NHL news to sift through, but there is some, and, in the case of the Chicago Blackhawks, it’s very bad.

That’s because the team just learned their franchise centerpiece, Connor Bedard, will be out of action four months after getting injured while training.

That means he won’t be back in the team’s lineup until November.

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Bedard was training in Vancouver last week when video started making the rounds showing him falling during a drill and leaving the ice in clear discomfort.

Well, that discomfort was real, and, on Wednesday the Blackhawks announced the 2023 first overall pick had undergone surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to make a full recovery.

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He will miss some action early in the upcoming season.

The Blackhawks will be happy to have him back a month or so into the season as opposed to having him miss four months of the regular season, but that is going to make Chicago’s start to the season critical.

The Blackhawks play in a tough Central Division, and they have to keep pace with the likely playoff teams in it — squads like the Avalanche, Stars, Wild, Mammoth and maybe Jets — so that they don’t have to dig out of a hole when Bedard returns to action.

Bedard is no stranger to injuries. He battled an injury to his right shoulder last season, and in his rookie campaign in 2024-25, he broke his jaw.

When he’s healthy, he has averaged a little under a point per game, something the Blackhawks will need as they continue to work their way back to being perennial playoff contenders.