The Chicago Blackhawks will be without Connor Bedard to start the 2026-27 season.
After missing 12 games with a suspected shoulder injury last season, video emerged last week of Bedard seemingly injuring the same shoulder during offseason training. He immediately left the ice in obvious discomfort, and Blackhawks fans’ worst fear has now come true.
It was announced by the team on Wednesday that Bedard underwent surgery to repair his left shoulder. The procedure was successful, but it will sideline the star center for at least four months.
“This morning, Connor Bedard underwent successful surgery to repaire his left shoulder. We expect him to make a full recovery in an approximate timeline of four months,”
Four months would put him on track to make his season debut in early to mid-November.
The 20-year-old Bedard is currently an RFA after just finishing out his three-year, $2.85 million entry-level contract signed upon being drafted by Chicago in 2023. He recorded a career-high 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in just 69 games played last season.
It’s far from an ideal situation for Bedard and the Blackhawks, who are in the middle of trying to hash out a contract extension while having just seen Leo Carlsson get offer-sheeted by the Philadelphia Flyers.
If there is any positive to take from the injury news, it could be that it somewhat scares teams away from placing an equally massive offer sheet on Bedard, though Chicago is in a position to match just about anything thrown his way.
The surgery was clearly something Bedard was going to need to get done at some point, so having it happen now and only missing the first month — if even — of the 2026-27 could wind up being better than him re-injuring it in the middle of the campaign and missing much more game action.
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