CHICAGO — Connor Bedard will be out of the Chicago Blackhawks lineup for the rest of December and will be reevaluated in January, coach Jeff Blashill said on Monday.
The center sustained an upper-body injury with one second left in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday while taking a face-off. Blues center Brayden Schenn went in for a stick lift and knocked into Bedard, who fell backward to the ice. He was clutching his right shoulder as he headed toward the locker room.
“It’s one of those things, this stuff happens. I just talked to the coaches in Tampa (Bay), I think they’re out another defenseman. I think they’re missing four of their starting [defensemen]. It’s just part of pro sports and obviously Connor’s a huge piece,” said Blashill, who was an assistant for the Lightning the previous three seasons.
Blashill didn’t want to specify the injury. Asked if Bedard would have to undergo any procedure/surgery, the coach said the 20-year-old will go through rehabilitation now and the Blackhawks will see if anything else is necessary when he’s reevaluated. He also said Bedard would prefer not to miss any time.
“Honestly, his attitude is good,” Blashill said. “I think he wants to be back next week. That’s the approach that he takes: he wants to be back. He would’ve preferred I had said ‘day to day,’ but…the reality is we won’t let him do that [until] after the New Year.”
The Blackhawks (13-13-6) have seven games remaining in December. The timeline means Bedard will not play before the Dec. 31 deadine for Team Canada to submit its roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
With his team-leading 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists), which ranks fourth in the NHL, Bedard is certainly in the mix to reprsent Canada in Milan.
Blashill reiterated that Bedard was hurt prior to Schenn’s pushing him.
“When I looked at the face-off, you can tell that what happened, happened prior to the push. So, it was prior to the push, as he was trying to go forward with the face-off, it was unfortunate,” he said. “Honestly, it was probably a freak accident. It had nothing to do with Brayden pushing after and that’s just a natural reaction after you lose a face-off to do that. Brayden is a super quality guy. There was no ill intent at all.”
Blashill said Bedard’s absence means the Blackhawks have to focus on two things: getting better defensively, which he said they need to do regardless of Bedard’s status, and getting more net-front goals. Forward Tyler Bertuzzi has been the Blackhawks’ best at the latter and is second on the team with 26 points (16 goals, 10 assists) in 29 games. Fifteen of his goals have come from high-danger areas, which leads the NHL, according to NHL EDGE stats. Nine of Bedard’s goals have come from high-danger areas.
“Tyler’s probably the one guy on our team that’s great at it and he’s a natural at it, but anybody can do it,” Blashill said. “The one thing I’ve been impressed with Connor this year is he’s gone to the net, been net-front numerous times, so everybody can do it. Certainly, tipping pucks and things like that, there’s a hand-eye, a skill to that. But being around the net and creating the chaos, anybody can do.”
Chicago, which begins a three-game road trip at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, CHSN), recalled goalie Laurent Brossoit from his conditioning assignment and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro from Rockford of the American Hockey League. Blashill said Brossoit will be placed on waivers on Monday and if he clears, he’ll be reassigned to Rockford.
Nick Foligno (hand) will go on the trip with the Blackhawks but whether he plays in a game on it remains uncertain. Foligno has skated on his own for several days but hasn’t practiced with the Blackhawks since being injured on Nov. 15 against the Maple Leafs.
Nick Lardis was also recalled from Rockford and made his NHL debut Saturday. Lardis, who logged 15:32 of ice time against Detroit, has 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 24 AHL games this season.
Bedard had 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 82 games last season and 61 points (39 goals, 61 assists) in 68 games in 2023-24 when he won the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s top rookie. He missed 14 games in his rookie season with a fractured jaw he sustained in January 2024.
“It’s going to be on everybody to step up and do their part,” Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson said. “It’s going to be on everybody as a unit to step up and get wins, whether they have to be greasy, 1-0, 2-1 wins or if we can find a way to put a bunch in the net, that’s great. But a win’s a win.”
The Blackhawks will miss Bedard, but they can’t use his absence as an excuse to lose ground in the standings. They entered Monday three points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“It’s something we’ve had to focus on throughout the year is simplicity, being simple, making simple plays and sticking to our systems,” Chicago forward Frank Nazar said. “It’s going to be a great test, right? We’ve got adversity to go through and something we have to fight against and prove we can come out on top.”
