The Blackhawks will be shorthanded to start the 2026-27 season.
The team announced star Connor Bedard underwent surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday after he crashed into the boards during training with Kaivo Hockey in Vancouver earlier this month.
“We expect him to make a full recovery in an approximate timeline of four months,” the team said in a statement.
The recovery timeline would likely bring him back to action in November, meaning Bedard, currently a restricted free agent, would miss at least the first month of the season, which will open in late September due to the expansion to 84 games.
“Obviously a superb young talent,” free agent addition Ian Cole said of Bedard on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, yeah, it sounds like it’s going to be a little later than originally anticipated, but you know, he seems like a great guy.”
Bedard, who turns 21 later this month, has now suffered two shoulder injuries within the past year. In December, he injured his right shoulder taking a faceoff against the Blues, which caused him to miss four weeks.
It’s a sizable blow to a rebuilding Chicago, as Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, led the team with 75 points in 69 games last season as he notched his first 30-goal campaign. Bedard won the Calder Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year in the 2023-24 season. Across his career, he’s recorded 203 points in 219 games.
But entering his fourth season in the NHL, he has yet to see the playoffs.
The Blackhawks finished 31st in the NHL each of the past three seasons.
They made a big offseason splash in acquiring defenseman Bowen Byram from the Sabres ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft, sending the Nos. 4 and 45 overall picks to Buffalo. They promptly inked him to a six-year contract extension worth $75 million, giving him the highest average annual value ($12.5 million) among blueliners in the league.
