Connor Bedard’s season is already on pause, and Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson still doesn’t have a firm timetable for when the team’s new captain will be back.
Davidson told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that there is no fresh update on Bedard right now. The Blackhawks open tonight against the Golden Knights, and they’ll have to get through more games without the player who has led the team in scoring each of the past three seasons.
Head coach Jeff Blashill said last week that Bedard was not close to returning to practice. The expectation remains that he’ll be back sometime in November, and Davidson said today the team will “probably” have “new information” sometime in October.
Bedard’s absence comes after a busy stretch for the 21-year-old. He finished last season with two assists against the Sharks in the finale last April, then injured his left shoulder in early July during a freak accident on an off-season skate.
By mid-month, he had signed a five-year extension worth $15MM per season. Two weeks ago today, he was named the 37th captain in team history.
Over the summer, Patrick Kane also returned to Chicago to join him.
For a team that pushed right up against the cap with playoff hopes and the mission of sending #88 off the right way, a sluggish start without its top center would make some sense. But once Bedard does come back later in the fall, Chicago will be expected to climb to a level it hasn’t shown in nearly a decade. If he can’t return until mid-November, the Blackhawks will need to stay afloat through their first 20 games.
In Colorado, the defending Presidents Trophy winners will also be short-handed for their season opener at Los Angeles. Corey Masisak of the Denver Post reports that Logan O’Connor and Zachary L’Heureux will both sit out tomorrow’s game. Jared Bednar said the Avalanche will dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Noah Juulsen serving as the extra defenseman.
L’Heureux, who came over from Nashville in June in the Jack Drury trade, is dealing with a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick in 2021 and has carved out a role as a gritty bottom-six presence, with 20 points in 87 NHL games. His offensive upside showed more clearly in the AHL last season, when he put up 28 points in 30 games, and Colorado may eventually be able to tap into that.
O’Connor is a much more familiar name for Avalanche fans. He has been a steady bottom-six piece and an elite penalty killer over the past several seasons. He was limited to 13 regular-season games last year after hip surgery, and this latest lower-body issue is being described as day-to-day and not related.
There’s also a positive sign in San Jose. Adam Gaudette is skating again as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury suffered two weeks ago, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reported.
Missing preseason games has been a setback for the 29-year-old, who looked like his NHL path had stalled four years ago when he landed in the AHL. Instead, he rebounded in a big way with 44 goals for the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2023-24. That led to a strong year in Ottawa, where he scored 19 goals and earned a two-year contract from the Sharks worth $2MM per season.
Gaudette is one of several veterans San Jose added to help bridge the gap in its rebuild. He’s now part of a roster that includes a wave of high-end young forwards and more additions built for middle-six roles, with Kiefer Sherwood occupying the fourth line after a significant investment by the team. Because Gaudette can take faceoffs regularly, the Sharks will hope to activate him from injured reserve and have him available again as soon as Saturday against Los Angeles.
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Blackhawks Opening Night Picture Is Still Unsettled Without Bedard
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The uncertainty is amplified by Connor Bedards status, since he traveled with the club but will not play during the three-game road trip and is also unlikely to be available for the home opener. Blashill said the final 12 forwards for the game are still not settled, leaving the Blackhawks with a little more sorting to do before they can put a true opening-night lineup on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
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Sam Rinzels preseason, meanwhile, pointed in the opposite direction. His struggles have left the organization leaning toward giving him more seasoning at the next level, while the top-four defensemen are expected to stay intact and Ian Cole is set to handle a steady veteran presence on the bottom pair. For a team trying to balance patience with progress, the final call on its young defense corps is starting to feel less like a mystery and more like a development plan taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Open With Two Big Questions Fans Will Notice Fast
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What stands out most is how many familiar names are still part of the conversation, even before the puck drops. The Blackhawks projected forward group points to a few competition battles that could shape the start of the season, and the status of key players recovering from injury remains something to watch as camp approaches. With the opener and the first wave of league events coming into focus, Chicagos lineup picture is clear in some spots and still very much in motion in others. [Read more 🡒]