Blackhawks Connor Bedard Out 6-8 Weeks After Surgery To Repair Broken Jaw

The NHL rookie scoring leader underwent operation in Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks and NHL rookie scoring leader Connor Bedard underwent successful surgery to repair his fractured jaw at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, the team announced on Wednesday. The NHL's No. 1 draft pick of 2023 is expected to be out six to eight weeks in a statement from team doctor Michael Terry.

Bedard leads all first-year NHLers, and Chicago, with 15 goals and 33 points. He suffered the broken jaw on an open-ice hit by Devils defenseman Brendan Smith late in the first period of a 4-2 loss in New Jersey on Friday.

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson sustained a broken jaw from a slapshot as a defenseman with Columbus during the 2005-06 season and missed five-and-half weeks. 

"I think they're just precautionary on a young guy having a trauma injury like that," Richardson said. "You know if it's earlier, great. But I think that's probably a normal timeline for what they were thinking of with the procedure they did."

Richardson said he had not yet spoken at length with Bedard about the injury. See following video.

Veteran forward Nick Foligno broke a finger on his left hand fighting Smith in the second period. The 36-year-old skated on Wednesday, although Richardson joked he didn't know how Foligno "tied his own skates."

Also out for depleted Chicago are forwards Anthony Beauvillier (left wrist), Tyler Johnson (right foot) and Andreas Athanasiou (groin). Forwards Joey Anderson and Taylor Raddysh returned to the lineup for Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to Edmonton.

Blackhawks top defenseman Seth Jones has been sidelined since Dec. 10 with a shoulder injury. Jones, who leads the Blackhawks with an average of 25:25 ice time per game, participated in Chicago's full practice on Wednesday.

Jones still needs more practices — and more "bumping" — before returning to play, Richardson said after the session.

Jones didn't join the Blackhawks on their trip to Winnipeg to play the Jets on Thursday. He'll practice on Friday with the team in Chicago and "we'll go from there," Richardson said.

Chicago defenseman Jarred Tinordi suffered a broken jaw after being hit with a puck to the face in December 2022 in game against the New York Rangers. His mouth area was immobilized with surgically installed crimps and rubber bands.

"I don't know exactly what surgery (Bedard) had," Tinordi said. "I had to see a trauma surgeon, so they had to do a whole bunch of work up there to fix it all."

The 31-year-old Tinordi said he had been talking to Bedard and checking in on him. The rugged  D-man said his biggest challenge was "keeping his weight on and eating healthy."

"My jaw was wired shut and we had tons of help from the team," Tinordi said. "Good food, buttoned it up and that's going to be the biggest challenge.

"You can only eat soup pretty much the whole time, so you kind of get sick of it."

But Tinordi credited a Blackhawks team chef, Dee Dee Saracco, (https://www.gravylady.com/contact) with providing the best options.

"She made me a fridge and freezer full of soups and everything like that, Tinordi said. "She just told me to put it in a blender and do the best you can.

"She was going to do the same for him, and sure enough she did. She's a saint. She'll take care of him."

Richardson, who lives in the same downtown Chicago building as Bedard, said he ran into Saracco at their high-rise and helped her unload food. 

"He's got lots of help and I think his mom's here too," Richardson said. "He's going to be well-taken care of." See following video.

"And then mentally, just going through that," Tinordi added. That's a long time to be honest, especially for a young kid. You just want to make sure he's where he needs to be mentally too."

Bedard should be able to start riding a stationary bike, albeit with some breathing adjustment, within a couple of weeks. Then he'll be able to skate on his own.

"Your day-to-day isn't really changed all that much," Tinordi said. "You can go in the gym after two weeks or whatever. You can work out, you can lift, you can do all that. So I think physically he'll be fine."

Richardson expects Bedard to start pushing his way back to ice at the Blackhawks practice facility as soon as possible. See video.