Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard out four months after shoulder surgery

A huge blow for the team in the Windy City.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that forward Connor Bedard underwent surgery to repair his left shoulder. While the operation was successful, the team expects full recovery to take around four months.

Bedard suffered the injury during an on-ice training session earlier this month. It happened after he fell awkwardly into the boards.

It’s not the update Chicago fans wanted to see, as they will now be missing their star player for possibly the first month of the 2026-27 season, if all goes well. The Blackhawks made some moves this past offseason, most notably acquiring defenseman Bowen Byram and forward Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres, before signing Byram to a six-year contract extension. With the new additions, there was optimism that the Hawks could improve, but now they are facing a choppy start without their top offensive weapon.

This isn’t the first time Bedard has missed time due to injury. A broken jaw caused him to miss over a dozen games in his rookie season. In 2025-26, an injury to his right shoulder knocked him out of action for a month, derailing what had been a fruitful opening couple of months for Chicago. He managed to play most of the remaining campaign, missing just a few games due to illness in January. In 69 games, he set career highs in goals (30), assists (45) and points (75).

With Bedard out, a massive hole is at the top of the Blackhawks’ lineup. Expect Frank Nazar to get looks at first-line center heading into training camp, with players like Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato playing bigger roles as well. That said, general manager Kyle Davidson might seek reinforcements for the time being.

Across his first three seasons in the NHL, Bedard has appeared in 219 games, scoring 75 goals and 128 assists for 203 points. He’s a restricted free agent, having come to the end of his three-year, entry-level contract.