The Chicago Blackhawks are holding their breath again. Connor Bedard went down during an offseason skate in Burnaby, British Columbia, on Thursday and it looked bad. Video from the session shows the 20-year-old forward losing his footing after a spin pass, then crashing into the boards in an awkward way. He grabbed his left shoulder immediately and skated off doubled over. You can hear him in pain on the clip.
This is the same shoulder he hurt last season. Different shoulder, actually. The December 2025 injury against the St. Louis Blues was his right shoulder. That one dislocated during a faceoff and cost him 12 games. He avoided surgery and came back, but the Blackhawks handled him carefully for months after. Limited faceoff duties, managed minutes. It took a while before he looked like himself again. Now it’s the left shoulder and there’s no official word yet on how serious it is.
Bedard’s agent, Don Meehan, said more details should come in the next few days. The team hasn’t confirmed anything. And on top of this, Bedard is a restricted free agent. Contract talks are happening right now between his camp and Chicago. Not the best timing.
Another rough summer for Bedard
The kid has been in Canada training like usual. He just put up career-best numbers in 2025-26 — 30 goals and 45 assists for 75 points in 69 games. Overall, he’s got 75 goals and 203 points in 219 NHL games since going first overall in 2023. But injuries keep getting in the way. His rookie year he broke his jaw, missed time, came back early, and still won the Calder Trophy with 61 points in 68 games.
This is getting repetitive. And for a franchise trying to build around him, every scare like this one matters. The video spread fast online. Fans are nervous. The Blackhawks have to be too. The workout included other Vancouver-area guys like Zach Benson, Arshdeep Bains and Luca Cagnoni. Just a normal summer skate that turned into something nobody wanted to see.
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