{"id":558,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/558","headline":"Bedard trending toward season debut against Penguins","dek":"The Blackhawks captain has been out since offseason shoulder surgery on July 8 and could face Sidney Crosby's Penguins on Tuesday.","body":"Connor Bedard has not played a single game for Chicago this season, but that looks ready to change. The 21-year-old injured his left shoulder during an offseason on-ice training session and underwent surgery on July 8, sidelining the newly named Blackhawks captain for the start of the year.\n\nHead coach Jeff Blashill addressed Bedard's status on Monday, saying the team has a morning skate before Tuesday's game but that Bedard is \"trending\" toward being available. If he suits up, it will be his first appearance of the season, and it comes against a marquee opponent in Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.\n\nBedard had initially been expected to miss roughly a month of the season. Getting him back on this timeline would be a quicker turnaround than first anticipated. For a Blackhawks team still building around its young core, having the captain back in the lineup, even for a game against a future Hall of Famer like Crosby, matters well beyond the final score.\n\nChicago will confirm Bedard's availability after Tuesday's morning skate.","published_at":"2026-10-14T04:49:16.110960+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Blackhawks' Connor Bedard expected to make season debut against Sidney Crosby, Penguins","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7686664/2026/10/13/blackhawks-connor-bedard-debut-injury-penguins/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard ‘trending’ toward season debut vs. Penguins","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-connor-bedard-trending-toward-051837333.html"},{"outlet":"ESPN","publisher":"ESPN","title":"Blackhawks' Bedard likely to make season debut Tuesday vs. Penguins","url":"https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/50168099/blackhawks-captain-connor-bedard-likely-make-season-debut-tuesday"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"When will Blackhawks' Connor Bedard return? Latest on shoulder injury","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-connor-bedard-return-latest-183055585.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard expected to make season debut after shoulder surgery","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-connor-bedard-expected-season-193438375.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard inches closer to returning by taking part in full-contact practice","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-connor-bedard-inches-closer-204800651.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"How Bedard’s Return Impacts Rest of Blackhawks Forward Group","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bedard-return-impacts-rest-blackhawks-005807228.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks vs. Penguins: Bedard’s Return, Crosby in Town, Lineups, & Watch Game 7","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-vs-penguins-bedard-return-165339071.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks Assign Lardis To Rockford, Clear Roster Space For Bedard","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-assign-lardis-rockford-clear-192757320.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Kantserov & Teravainen Score Twice, Blackhawks Top Penguins in Bedard’s Return","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kantserov-teravainen-score-twice-blackhawks-041808383.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard opens up on former No. 1 pick’s major impact on him","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blackhawks-connor-bedard-opens-former-053717683.html"}],"image":null,"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}