The Chicago Blackhawks placed star center Connor Bedard on injured reserve Monday because of an upper-body injury he suffered in Friday’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. He will be reevaluated in January, but surgery is not expected.
Bedard sat out Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings and will miss at least the next eight games.
With 0.8 seconds left in regulation Friday, Blues forward Brayden Scheen plowed through Bedard to prevent a shot. Bedard fell to the ice and grabbed his right shoulder in clear pain as he skated to the locker room.
Bedard hadn’t missed time since his rookie season, having played in all 82 games in 2024-25. He suffered a fractured jaw Jan. 5, 2024, against the New Jersey Devils and missed 14 games, though he still led all NHL rookies in points en route to winning the Calder Trophy.
He’s in the midst of a breakout season this year, ranking fourth in the NHL with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists). He’s two goals and nine points from passing Eddie Olczyk for the most in Hawks history before turning 21.
The injury likely will kill Bedard’s chances of playing for Canada in the Winter Olympics in February. The deadline for the roster to be finalized is Dec. 31.
Bedard has scored or assisted on 48.4% of the Hawks goals this season. In their first game without him Saturday, they were unable to create any offense in the shutout loss to the Red Wings.
Coach Jeff Blashill said Monday that Bedard has taken the injury well and has done a better job of not overtraining like in past seasons.
“His attitude is good,” Blashill said. “I think he wants to be back next week — that’s the approach he takes.”
The Hawks are 3-11-1 without Bedard since drafting him with the No. 1 pick in 2023. Things aren’t getting easier in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche (23-2-7) being Stanley Cup favorites and the Minnesota Wild adding defenseman Quinn Hughes in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
It will be hard to make up for the absence of Bedard’s playmaking and scoring. The Hawks called up Nick Lardis on Saturday in hopes of an offensive spark, but overall it’s a next-man-up mentality.
“Connor’s not going to go out tomorrow night and score a big goal, so then someone else has to do that,” Blashill said. “It puts more pressure on the rest of the team, and that’s good. Let’s see which guys can take that pressure and up their game.”
More roster moves
- Captain Nick Foligno, who’s on IR with a hand/wrist injury, will travel with the Hawks on their three-game Canadian trip that starts Tuesday night in Toronto. Blashill said he “wouldn’t rule out” Foligno playing during the trip.
- Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro was recalled from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. It hasn’t been determined if he will play against the Maple Leafs.
- Goaltender Laurent Brossoit was recalled from Rockford but will be placed on waivers. If he clears waivers, he will spend more time with the IceHogs.