Chicago Blackhawks

No Bedard: Blackhawks Bracing for Life Without Their Captain

Connor Bedard won’t be back anytime soon, and that’s a tough blow for Chicago. But maybe patience is exactly what the Blackhawks need.

by
Old Prof
September 23, 2026

Well, this isn’t exactly how the Chicago Blackhawks wanted to start the season. Head coach Jeff Blashill says Connor Bedard isn’t close to joining the team for practice yet, which pretty much confirms what everyone was hoping wouldn’t happen. The young star will miss some real hockey to start the year.

What Does Bedard’s Absence Mean for Chicago?

Bedard is still recovering from the shoulder surgery he had in July. He has been doing some work at training camp and has even been taking a few slap shots, which sounds encouraging. But he hasn’t really started ramping things up yet. That tells us something. The expectation is that he could be out until around November.

And for the Blackhawks, that’s a pretty big hole to start digging out of. Let’s not kid ourselves. Chicago isn’t just missing a good hockey player. It’s missing the guy. He scored 30 goals and added 45 assists last season while playing nearly 21 minutes a night. He wasn’t just piling up points, either. He blocked 27 shots, threw 31 hits and continued to develop into a pretty responsible two-way player.

Now he’s also the captain. That makes this a little different. The Blackhawks weren’t just expecting Bedard to score goals. They were asking him to take on more responsibility and help set the tone for a young team that is still trying to figure out what it wants to become.

So, this hurts. Every game without Bedard is a game without Chicago’s biggest offensive weapon and its biggest piece of the rebuild. In a league where a handful of points can make a pretty big difference by the end of the season, those missed games could matter.

Connor Bedard contract Blackhawks — Connor Bedard will miss the Blackhawks ‘ season start.

But Maybe Patience Is the Right Play

Here’s the other side of this thing. Bedard is 21 years old. The Blackhawks are rebuilding. Nobody should pretend this is the year Chicago has to win the Stanley Cup or else. The bigger picture matters.

If one player in the organization really doesn’t need to be rushed back from a shoulder injury, it’s Bedard. Let the kid heal. Let the shoulder get strong. Let him come back when he’s ready, not because everybody is getting restless. Sure, watching the Blackhawks without their captain for the first month or so won’t be much fun.

If taking things slow now helps keep their captain healthy for the next 10 years, then it’s probably worth it. The first few weeks of the season don’t matter nearly as much as the bigger picture.