Jay Zawaski of CHGO Sports is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard is still expected to miss at least six weeks as he recovers from a fractured jaw that he suffered on January 5th. Bedard started skating last week in a full-face shield but is unable to exert himself as he tries to allow his jawbone to heal from the surgery he had.
The six-week timeline was given to the media by Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, who was referring to the original timeline for Bedard’s return. Richardson added that Bedard will need to go through imaging and a medical clearance before he can ramp up his skating and return to action.
The 18-year-old leads all NHL rookies with 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games. He was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game a few weeks ago but is unlikely to attend given that the game will be held on February 3rd.
In other evening notes:
- Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has shared that he is close to returning, and nearly played in the team’s Saturday loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Skinner has been out of the lineup since January 9th with an upper-body injury, missing five games. He’s remained one of Buffalo’s leading scorers despite the absences, though, sitting third on the team with 33 points through 38 games. Skinner also leads the team with 17 goals.
- The New York Islanders refuted an earlier report from RDS’ Stephane Leroux that the team was hiring Benoit Desrosiers as an assistant coach under new bench boss Patrick Roy. The statement added that Islanders General Manager and President Lou Lamoriello does plan to meet with Desrosiers in the future, but he has not been hired at this time. Desrosiers spent five seasons as Roy’s assistant with the Remparts and won the Memorial Cup in 2023. He was hired as the head coach of the Gatineau Olympiques for this season but has had a rough start as the team currently sits seventh in the Western Conference of the QMJHL with a record of 15-26-4.