Buckle up, Blackhawks fans. You’re in for a rough 6 to 8 weeks.
That’s the timeline Blackhawks team physician Dr. Michael Terry announced for the return of Connor Bedard, who underwent successful surgery to repair his fractured jaw. Bedard suffered the injury Friday night against the Devils when he was carrying the puck into the zone on the power play and defenseman Brendan Smith delivered a crushing hit. He immediately skated to the bench holding his jaw and did not return to the game. The Blackhawks said their star rookie would be re-evaluated when they returned to Chicago, and on Saturday morning, they announced he would be placed on IR for the next few weeks.
With that timeline, Bedard can expect to return in mid-to-late February. The Blackhawks only have one road game throughout the entire month compared to nine games at the United Center, so it’s likely that he’ll return for a home game, which could even speed up the process. Chicago hosts the Red Wings on the 25th, so he’d be likely to make it back before then from a PR standpoint. With the return of Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat looming, that’s a game he won’t want to miss.
With Bedard joining the ever-growing list of injured Blackhawks skaters, the team’s forward lines are as thin as ever. Thankfully, with Taylor Raddysh and Joey Anderson coming off IR, the worst part is likely coming to an end. Hopefully, Chicago won’t have to make more emergency moves like the ones they made to acquire Rem Pitlick and Zach Sanford. Nevertheless, the Blackhawks were an ugly team even without Bedard. With their only star player out for more than a month, other, more unknown players will have to step up, including names like Lukas Reichel and Philipp Kurashev.
Bedard missing extended time is a huge blow for both his rookie season and the Blackhawks’. He’ll unfortunately miss the All-Star Game that he was named to. His Calder Trophy season may be in jeopardy as well, although he was holding a huge lead in the race before the injury. While he’ll miss the next month, at least Bedard’s surgery was successful and he’s on the path to recovery.
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