Connor Bedard will miss the start of the 2026-27 season after having surgery on his left shoulder, the Chicago Blackhawks announced on Wednesday.
Their No. 1 center was injured while practicing in Vancouver on July 2 and is expected to need four months to recover.
Bedard, who will turn 21 on July 17, led Chicago with 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in 69 games last season. Selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, he has 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) in 219 games with the Blackhawks. He won the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL rookie of the year, in 2023-24.
A restricted free agent, Bedard has been eligible to sign another contract with Chicago since July 1, 2025. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said last week there was no update on contract talks.
Bedard missed 12 games last season after sustaining an upper-body injury while taking a face-off with one second remaining in a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12. Then-Blues center Brayden Schenn went in for a stick lift and knocked into Bedard, who fell backward to the ice. He was grabbing his right shoulder as he headed to the locker room.
Though he played all 82 games in 2024-25, Bedard missed 14 games the previous season as a rookie, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 13, 2024, with a fractured jaw sustained in a 4-2 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 5.
