Connor Bedard’s rise in Chicago has come with a new contract, a huge workload, and now a setback that will keep him out to open the 2026-27 NHL season.
The Blackhawks star, who signed a five-year, $75 million extension, is coming off another major season for Chicago. In the 2025-26 NHL campaign, Bedard put up 75 points, scoring 30 goals and adding 45 assists in 69 games.
But while his on-ice importance keeps growing, Bedard’s mother, Melanie, recently gave a glimpse into the family approach that helped shape him long before the money and attention. Speaking to The Toronto Star, she said the focus in the Bedard household was never just about hockey performance.
“Tom never critiqued Connor. They talk about things, because Connor is his biggest critic.
And I’m so grateful for their relationship, because what I’ve seen, and a big part of why I wanted to step away, was I would look at these dynamics ... Connor would say some of his teammates would be crying because they didn’t want to go on the car ride with their dad, with their parents."
She continued:
"And I thought, all these people in this machine, you are losing sight of the most important thing: your relation. Because even if they are the next Crosby, they’ll probably be done in their 30s and you’ve damaged that relationship that you could have had the rest of your life.
Like, you’re gonna make everything in your world with your child about whether they scored a goal or not? That always was strange to me in that world."
Now, Chicago has a different kind of concern. Bedard suffered an upper-body injury during offseason training, and footage of him leaving practice in pain circulated widely. The Blackhawks later confirmed he had undergone shoulder surgery.
In a statement posted to the team’s official social handles, the Blackhawks said:
"This morning, Connor Bedard underwent successful surgery to repair his left shoulder. We expect him to make a full recovery in an approximate timeline of four months."
That timeline points to a return in November or December, meaning the Blackhawks will have to start the season without one of their most important players.
In Other News...
Patrick Kane's Return Has Blackhawks Fans Dreaming Bigger Again
Patrick Kane is back in Chicago, and for a fan base that has spent the last few seasons waiting for a true jolt of optimism, the reunion gives the rebuild a much different feel. After stops with the Rangers and Red Wings, Kane has signed a two-year deal to return to the Blackhawks, where the conversation immediately turns to how his presence can help shape the next phase around Connor Bedard and the teams young core.
The excitement has spread beyond the locker room, too, with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk both sounding encouraged by the possibility of Kane linking up with Bedard. It is easy to see why that idea has so much appeal: a veteran star who knows the pressures of Chicago, a franchise centerpiece still early in his career, and a roster trying to move from promising to dangerous. For the Blackhawks, Kanes return is about more than nostalgia, because it puts a real spotlight on what this group might become. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks And Penguins Re Sign Depth Forwards For Key Reason
The depth-forward market kept moving this week, with San Jose locking up undrafted free agent Collin Graf on a three-year contract and Pittsburgh extending Tommy Noval for three more seasons. Moves like these usually do not grab headlines outside the teams making them, but they matter because they help clubs keep young, inexpensive support pieces in place while the roster picture shifts around them.
For the Blackhawks, it is the kind of transaction worth watching from a distance, especially as a reminder of how much value there is in identifying role players early and getting ahead of the next contract question. The cap hit on Novals deal does not even begin until the 2027-28 season, which is the sort of long-view planning more teams are trying to build into their depth charts, and it leaves plenty of time for Chicago to keep tracking the players who might eventually fit that mold. [Read more 🡒]