The 2023-24 edition of the Chicago Blackhawks continues to see its roster getting further depleted. Unfortunately, the recent losses come to two of the team’s more important players. The team recently announced that both Connor Bedard and Nick Foligno are being placed on IR. Bedard suffered a fractured jaw while Foligno has a fractured finger, both occurring in Friday’s (Jan. 5) loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Bedard left in the first period of Friday’s 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils after taking a big hit from defenseman Brendan Smith. He was seen holding his jaw area as he went to the locker room. Foligno was also placed on injured reserve due to a fractured left finger that he may have suffered in his second-period fight with Smith. The team now has a total of nine players on injured reserve.
The 18-year-old Bedard, who had recently been named to the 2024 NHL All-Star game, has 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) through his first 39 games, though he’d been held to just one assist in his last five contests. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft leads the Blackhawks and all rookies in scoring. Besides Bedard and Foligno, the Hawks have recently lost forwards Taylor Raddysh (groin), Tyler Johnson (foot), and Anthony Beauvillier (wrist) to injury.
The Blackhawks finished with a rough 0-4-1 on their recent road trip and will head home to face the Calgary Flames on Sunday, Jan. 7.
Blackhawks Acquire Pitlick for Depth
To address the need for more players due to the staggering amount of injuries, the Blackhawks also announced that they acquired forward Rem Pitlick from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday morning (Jan. 6) for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2026 to provide some forward help. He has spent this season in the American Hockey League with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has 24 points (eight goals and 16 assists) in 32 games. The 26-year-old Pitlick has 54 points (21 goals and 33 assists) in 123 games over four seasons with the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild and Canadiens.