Fractured jaw: long absence for Connor Bedard

Last night, the Blackhawks visited the New Jersey Devils.

It was a game to forget for the visitors, who lost 4-2. Worse still, they lost the services of their best player, Connor Bedard.

He was hit hard by Brendan Smith on this play:

Connor Bedard suffered a fractured jaw on this play pic.twitter.com/nJGcceDLGD

– ikeroccovioli (@mikeroccovioli) January 6, 2024

The result is that Bedard has a fractured jaw and has been placed on the injured list. He is expected to miss four to six weeks of activity.

Nick Foligno’s name has also been placed on the injured list.

As in Montreal, the list of injured players is long in Chicago.

In addition to the two forwards, all these players are unable to play. We can also add Corey Perry’s name to this group.

#Blackhawks on IR:

Connor Bedard
Taylor Hall
Tyler Johnson
Andreas Athanasiou
Anthony Beauvillier
Nick Foligno
Taylor Raddysh
Joey Anderson
Seth Jones

Luke Philp and Samuel Savoie are still on SOIR.https://t.co/ZJ2OGkS3q4

– CapFriendly Depth Charts (@CF_DepthCharts) January 6, 2024

In 39 games this season, the 18-year-old has collected 33 points, including 15 goals. He’s clearly the favorite to win Rookie of the Year. Will his absence affect his run for the Calder?

Connor McDavid also suffered a nasty injury in his first year in the NHL. He played just 45 games.

If there’s any good news here (and I do mean “if”), it’s that the Hawks could be in a better position to give themselves the best possible chance of being drafted first overall.

Indeed, the team is currently in second-to-last place in the NHL. They have three more points than the Sharks.

Without Bedard, without Taylor Hall, without Seth Jones, Luke Richardson’s team can dream of Macklin Celebrini.

With so many injuries, club GM Kyle Davidson had to make a move. He picked up Rem Pitlick for peanuts.

Extension

One thing’s for sure, the line-up is really tough…