The Chicago Blackhawks might not be very good right now, but they certainly aren’t boring. At one point this past week, the team had nine players on injured reserve. We’ve had a few updates on the injury front since then, and some corresponding new reinforcements added to the team.
Besides that, there is a bit of a twist to the Blackhawks’ 2024 All-Star representative. Plus, former Blackhawk Corey Perry is now eligible to return to the NHL. Let’s get to all this and more in our latest news and rumors.
Bedard’s Jaw Surgery & Timeline to Return
It was announced on Wednesday, Jan. 10 that Connor Bedard had successful surgery to his jaw the previous Monday. The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick fractured his jaw on Jan. 5 while playing against the New Jersey Devils. He was hit by Devil’s defenseman Brendan Smith while carrying the puck into the zone. Bedard left the ice on his own, but did not return.
Of course, everyone is wondering when Bedard will return to play. The Blackhawks gave a timeline of six-to-eight weeks for recovery. This would put his return somewhere between Feb. 19 and Mar. 4. Based upon other similar injuries from previous players, this seems a bit longer than initially expected.
Related – Connor Bedard to Miss 6-8 Weeks After Jaw Surgery
I’m guessing the Blackhawks are being conservative here. That way, everyone can be happy when he returns earlier. Even head coach Luke Richardson hinted that it could be earlier, although he backtracked a little to keep the original timeline in place. “They are just (being) precautionary on a young guy having a trauma injury like that. If it’s earlier, great. But I think that’s probably a normal timeline for what they were thinking of the procedure they did.”
Remember, once he gets the pain and recovery under control, Bedard should be able to condition and skate on his own in preparation for his return. We all know the 18-year-old is very dedicated to his craft, and is usually the last one off the ice at practices. Plus, he’s young and extremely healthy, so his body should bounce back well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bedard isn’t ahead of his timeline, or at least closer to that six-week estimate.
I bet we see him back again the week of Feb. 19, if not sooner.
Blackhawks’ All-Star Replacement Candidates
Regardless of when Bedard eventually returns, he will miss out on being the Blackhawks’ All-Star representative the weekend of Feb. 1-3 in Toronto. This is unfortunate, as he was the youngest player in NHL history to receive that honor. The NHL and the Blackhawks will now have to choose a replacement. Three names I’ve seen thrown around the most are Jason Dickinson, Phillip Kurashev, and Alex Vlasic.
Dickinson is a prime candidate in that he’s second on the team (behind Bedard) with 14 goals. He also leads the team in shooting percentage (21.9%), takeaways (34) and leads in number of faceoffs taken (280), winning them at a clip of 46.6%. This is all coming from a player that’s also extremely reliable defensively, and is stepping up as a veteran leader on the team.
Related – Jason Dickinson Making Case to Be Part of Blackhawks Future
Kurashev is another strong contender by being second on the team to Bedard in assists (15) and overall points (23). The 24-year-old has played on the top line with Bedard for most of the season, possessing a high-hockey IQ and the talent to keep up with the 18-year-old. He’s finally coming into his own this season and is a rising star with the Blackhawks.
Finally, Vlasic has emerged as the de-facto top defenseman in the absence of the currently injured Seth Jones. He’s second (to Jones) on the team with an average ice time of 20:33 minutes, and has the second most points (also behind Jones) among defensemen (10). Vlasic quarterbacks the Blackhawks’ second power play unit, and he’s actually tied with Dickinson for the highest plus/minus rating on the team (+9). That’s a hard thing to do as a defenseman, meaning he’s contributing to keeping opponents from scoring when he’s on the ice.
All three of these players make an excellent case to be the Blackhawks’ All-Star replacement this year. You really can’t go wrong.
Del Mastro Is an AHL All-Star!
Speaking of All-Stars, rookie defenseman Ethan Del Mastro has been selected to represent the Rockford IceHogs at the AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose, California on Feb. 4-5. The 20-year-old has posted four goals and 17 points and has appeared in all 31 games with the IceHogs so far this season.
Del Mastro was selected by the Blackhawks in the fourth round (105th overall) in the 2021 draft. His junior resume includes stints with the OHL Mississauga Steelheads and the Sarnia Sting. He’s also contributed in winning a gold metal with Team Canada in the 2021 U-18 World Juniors, as well as back-to-back gold medals in the 2022 and 2023 U-20 World Junior Championships.
To be selected as an All-Star in one’s rookie season is quite an accomplishment! The future looks bright for this young man, and for the Blackhawks on the blue line with another promising prospect.
Blackhawks’ Injury Updates & New Players
There’s a lot to cover here, so let’s just get straight to it. For the matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 9, forwards Taylor Raddysh (groin) and Joey Anderson (shoulder) returned from their respective injuries. This was also Rem Pitlick’s first game with the Blackhawks after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 6. It was great to have some reinforcements, and give the lineup some semblance of normalcy again. It gave the team a big boost, despite a 2-1 loss.
In corresponding moves, defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Brett Seney were reassigned to the IceHogs on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively. Even as a defenseman, Crevier was serving as a bit of an insurance policy since the Blackhawks iced 11 forwards and seven defensemen in the previous game against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 7.
The contest against the Flames was also the first game Zach Sanford suited up for the Blackhawks, having been picked up off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 6. Sanford actually registered a primary assist on a goal by Colin Blackwell in his first game with his new team.
Related – Blackhawks Build Character While Fighting Multiple Injuries
Let’s also not forget about defenseman Jaycob Megna, whom the Blackhawks claimed off waivers on Jan. 3 from the Seattle Kraken. The 30-year-old has now played in four games with the Blackhawks, lining up alongside Vlasic. So far he’s been a steady presence on the blue line, averaging 15:54 minutes of ice time. Like Sanford, he also had some first-game luck, being credited with the secondary assist on a goal from (wait for it!) Blackwell against the New York Rangers on Jan. 4.
Some more good news on the injury front is that Jones (shoulder), Nick Foligno (finger) and Samuel Savoie (femur), were on the ice on Thursday (Jan. 10) ahead of the Blackhawks’ regular practice. Savoie broke his femur in the preseason, so even though he’s a prospect and doesn’t factor into the Blackhawks’ team, it’s great to see him on the ice.
Perry Eligible to Return to the NHL
In one final bit of news, it was also announced on Jan. 10 that former Blackhawk Corey Perry met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday, Jan. 9. He is now officially considered an unrestricted free agent that is eligible to sign with any team who might be interested in him.
To review, the Blackhawks put Perry on unconditional waivers on Nov. 28, with the intent to terminate his contract due to unacceptable conduct. This all came to fruition, and Perry then issued a statement of apology, saying his “behaviour was inappropriate and wrong”, and that he would be working with experts to “discuss his struggles with alcohol”.
We will likely never know what really happened, but the Blackhawks wanted to stick to the books in the wake of the Kyle Beach scandal. I would guess there are other teams that won’t be as strict as the Blackhawks, and who might be looking to add Perry to bolster a playoff run. To be clear, another team would need to sign Perry by the Mar. 8 trade deadline for him to be eligible for this season’s playoffs.
This will certainly be an interesting storyline to follow.
Related – 3 Reasons to Watch the Blackhawks Without Connor Bedard
Like I said, there is no shortage of news and rumors surrounding the Blackhawks of late. I’m sure we’ll hear shortly who has been nominated as the Blackhawks’ All-Star in Bedard’s stead. Hopefully the team will be getting even more players back from injuries in the coming days and weeks. Perhaps we’ll be able to talk about some wins soon!