Blackhawks News & Rumors: Bedard Injury & Offer Sheet Updates, Defensive Debates, More – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

Never a dull moment for the Chicago Blackhawks. Their cornerstone player Connor Bedard just can’t seem to stay healthy, while there’s major drama surrounding his contract based on the offer sheet Leo Carlsson recently signed. Meanwhile, would Bedard even consider an offer sheet if he was presented with one? Plus, the Blackhawks now have a plethora of left-shot defensemen on their hands. How are they going to balance that? Finally, we have some updates on the rookie showcase tournament & Blackhawks’ preseason games.

Let’s catch up on the latest news and rumors.

Bedard Injury Update

We learned last Thursday (Jul. 2) that Bedard fell awkwardly during a skating session in his native Vancouver training rink. He left the ice in what looked to be a lot of pain, holding his left shoulder. Obviously, this is not good news for Bedard or the Blackhawks. Ironically, the young superstar hurt his right shoulder while taking a faceoff last season on Dec. 12, causing him to miss four weeks of playing time.

I have video of Connor Bedard leaving practice today with a left shoulder injury, as first reported by @RyanmcgregorCHI. You can hear him in severe pain as he leaves the ice: pic.twitter.com/MySM1UwLht

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) July 2, 2026

In his 32 Thoughts Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said there was no update on Bedard’s injury, leaving fans biting their nails regarding his status. We’ll keep a close eye on this, and keep you apprised of any further news. The best case scenario would be a shoulder separation, and obviously that no surgery is required.

The good news is there’s over three months until the 2026-27 season gets underway.   

Would Bedard Sign an Offer Sheet?

Bedard’s injury uncertainty likely deterred other teams from considering an offer sheet for him. But would the 20-year-old consider one? Many are accusing Carlsson of being disloyal to his team for signing an offer sheet. But these young players have a right to leverage their abilities to make the most money for themselves.

That said, everyone’s situation is different. Bedard arguably could be disgruntled he hasn’t had a lot of help yet. But he’s also a very young player on a very young team. He understands the club is going through a rebuild, and that he might have to sacrifice now for the future.

Bedard’s also the cornerstone piece for Chicago, and he will be that moving forward. He would be the captain that leads this young group for years to come. And I’m sure he sees some potential in players like Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov at forward, and Byram on the back end. That’s a pretty lucrative position to give up, but is it enough to keep Bedard in the fold?

Can another team give Bedard what he’s built so far in Chicago? He seems highly invested in the process, in the youth movement and his place as the leader of that. I also get the vibe Bedard is willing to leave money on the table in the name of eventually assembling a winning team.

All that said, like any player, Bedard wants to win. Does he want to wait, and invest in the Blackhawks? Or could another team woe him away? I guess we’ll know in due time. But this, and Bedard’s injury status, are big stories right now.

Left Versus Right-Handed Defensemen

Moving on to some defensive news, the Blackhawks acquired defenseman Bowen Byram in a blockbuster deal with the Buffalo Sabres on Jun. 23, and then signed him to a six-year contract extension with a $12.5 million annual cap hit on the first day of free agency (Jul.1). This made him the highest paid defenseman in the league. On that same day, the Hawks inked veteran defenseman Ian Cole to a one-year deal worth $4 million. Both are left-shot defensemen.

In the meantime, right-shot Louis Crevier was thrown into the deal for Byram, likely as a sweetener. This leaves the Blackhawks with only two natural right-shot defensemen on their roster, Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel. Which elicits the question; just how are they going to balance their defensive pairings next season?

Blackhawks’ general manager Kyle Davidson was asked about this during their recent development camp.

We’ve got a bunch of players that can play their off-side. Ian Cole can play the off-side, Bowen (Byram) can play the off-side, Kais (Wyatt Kaiser) can play his off-side. We’ve seen that. And then we’ve got some of the younger guys, Korch (Kevin Korchinski) and (Ethan) Del Mastro, can both play the off-side too. We’ve seen them do that before, and so there’s options, there’s guys with versatility on the back end. Otherwise, if we didn’t have that versatility, we probably would have looked to a much more of an even lefty righty split. But we’ve got that versatility to let the coaches figure that out.

I don’t envy the coaches trying to balance this. When Byram spoke to the press after his signing, he indicated he’s played both sides and would be open to either. But he did say he’s more comfortable on his strong side and would prefer it. Will the Blackhawks’ newest and best defenseman have to be handicapped right off the bat?

It seems likely, because Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro are fighting for a spot in the lineup. It would behoove them to line up on their natural left side. Wyatt Kaiser may have played on his off side sparingly. But in consulting with my lines and pairings records from last season, he always started on the left. Of these three, Del Mastro probably has the most experience playing on his off side. This could wind up being an advantage to him as tries to crack the lineup.

It could make the most sense to play Cole on his off side. After all, he’s 37 years old and has 16 years of NHL experience under his belt. Perhaps the transition will be a rather seamless one for him. NHL teams struggle with this dilemma all the time, as right-shot defenseman are much harder to come by than left. But it just goes to show how Crevier was a valuable asset for the Blackhawks, one that will be missed.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the defensive pairings play out for the Blackhawks. It’s not an ideal situation, but hopefully it won’t cause too much disruption.

Other Blackhawks’ News & Notes

• When IceHogs’ head coach Jared Nightingale spoke at development camp, he indicated the organization’s rookie tournament will include some games at the Blackhawks Ice Arena. They will be hosting the St. Louis Blues. Dates to follow as we get them!

• Finally, the Blackhawks released their preseason schedule, which will only include four games this year. Training camp will to shorter too, as the league changes over to an 84-game schedule for all teams in the league.

🗓️ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘 🗓️

more info on tickets 🔗 https://t.co/iICZQ5eoqu pic.twitter.com/3KRMeXt9p9

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 6, 2026

Exhibition games will be against the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues, with one home again and one away game against each club.

That’ll do it for this edition of Blackhawks News & Rumors. But we’ve got plenty planned for the offseason, including finishing 2025-26 player grades and roster projections reflecting the recent free agency additions and subtractions. Keep it here at The Hockey Writers for all the latest news, reaction and analysis!