CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard was having an outstanding rookie season, living up to the billing he received prior to the Chicago Blackhawks selecting him No. 1 in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Now the Blackhawks will do their best to regroup after losing Bedard, their biggest star and leading scorer, and forward Nick Foligno, their biggest leader.
“I don’t think you replace those guys because of the talent level they have and leadership, but still, each guy has to play their game,” defenseman Connor Murphy said following the Blackhawks’ 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames at United Center on Sunday.
“No one’s going to be able to step out and play like Connor Bedard. Everyone has to play to their strengths and how they can and realize that, if everyone plays to their best ability and their own way, you’re still going to have a chance to win.”
Bedard is out indefinitely with a fractured jaw he sustained after taking a hit from New Jersey Devils defenseman Brendan Smith in the first period of their 4-2 loss on Friday. It’s the same status for Foligno, who sustained a fractured finger in the same game. He fought Smith early in the second period and didn’t return for the third.
The 18-year-old Bedard leads the Blackhawks and NHL rookies with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games. He was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Thursday. He was bringing excitement back to the Blackhawks. Whenever he got the puck, you could hear the noise rising from United Center fans in anticipation of what he could do.
Bedard is the new cornerstone of the Blackhawks following the departures of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews last season. He’s been tasked with bringing the Blackhawks back to their glory years, when they won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Losing Bedard and Foligno at the end of their five-game road trip left the Blackhawks in an understandably somber mood.
“It's definitely not good, but we're all professionals,” Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato said. “You know there's a bigger object at hand. We've got to win games, right? Obviously, it's tough to see those guys go down, especially being leaders but next guy has got to step up and perform.”
Finding the next guy has been a Blackhawks mantra throughout this season, which has been riddled with injuries. Taylor Hall, acquired with Foligno from the Boston Bruins in a trade on June 26, had ACL surgery on his right knee on Nov. 27 and is out for the season. Forward Andreas Athanasiou (groin) hasn’t played since Nov. 9. Defenseman Seth Jones (shoulder) last played Dec. 10.
Three more forwards were hurt on this latest road trip: Taylor Raddysh sustained a groin injury against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 29, Tyler Johnson a foot injury against the Stars on Dec. 31, and Anthony Beauvillier a left wrist injury against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Coach Luke Richardson put together a lineup that gutted out a win against Calgary, going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen because forward Rem Pitlick, who the Blackhawks acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, couldn’t get to Chicago due to weather issues.
“It’s kind of difficult, forwards get tired, and [defensemen] get out of rhythm of playing as much,” he said. “But all those distractions didn’t distract our focus for what we needed tonight, at all costs just to get this win.”
The Blackhawks (12-26-2) brought the right amount of resolve to offset their lack of healthy bodies to end a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) on Sunday. That grit and determination is something they’re going to need the rest of the way, especially as long as Bedard and Foligno are gone.
“Connor has been on the scoresheet a lot for us, and he's been the offensive production,” forward Colin Blackwell said. “And then ‘Fliggy’ (Foligno) has been that -- kind of him and ‘Dickie’ (forward Jason Dickinson) -- have been a staple for our team, I think. So, when you miss guys like that, honestly, it's tough.
“They've been huge for us and that's kind of like the heart and soul of our team. So I think it's important for some guys just to step up when we're getting these more minutes and you're never going to replace guys like that. You can do the best that you can in order to fill some roles and some shoes. But you're never going to replace them and we're going to miss them for however long they're out.”
