The Blackhawks’ worst nightmare has officially come true – Connor Bedard is headed to the injured list.
Early in Friday’s loss to the Devils, the Blackhawks’ first-overall pick was carrying the puck into the offensive zone to kickstart a power play for his squad when he took a vicious hit from New Jersey’s Brendan Smith. After falling to the ice, Bedard was slow to get up, holding his jaw as he headed straight to the locker room, and didn’t return. With the Blackhawks headed back to Chicago after the game, the team announced that their star would be re-evaluated once they got home.
After that evaluation, Blackhawks fans got some pretty sickening news. Being placed on IR, Bedard will miss some serious time, which is a complete nightmare for the entire franchise. The Blackhawks are an extremely banged-up squad as it is, and their star rookie was their last bit of offense remaining. Without him, it’s pretty safe to bet the team’s under in the coming games.
If previous renditions of the same injury in the NHL are any indication, Bedard’s looking at a 4-6 week recovery time.
Bedard’s injury wasn’t the only bad news the Blackhawks got to kick off the weekend. In the aftermath of the 18-year-old’s injury, Nick Foligno had a pretty nice fight with Smith, but fractured his left finger. He was also placed on IR, news that’s another huge blow to a team that was extremely grateful for his leadership both on and off the ice.
With two of their most important offensive skaters off the ice, Chicago was desperate for any healthy body they could get. In order to even field a lineup, they traded a 2026 seventh-round pick Saturday morning to Pittsburgh for forward Rem Pitlick. The 26-year-old has been in the AHL all year, where he has 24 points in 32 games. His $1.1 million-AAV contract expires at the end of this season, so it’s a clear rental situation. Thankfully, though, the Blackhawks didn’t have to give up much in return.
If the Blackhawks’ issues weren’t bad enough already, the team is officially in its worst-case scenario. With Bedard and Foligno both out, Chicago won’t be getting many pucks on the net for at least the next few weeks.
