Connor Bedard nearing return for Blackhawks

Bedard remains on injured reserve with no return date and cannot help fantasy rosters until he is activated, despite skating in practice.

By Fantasy Roundup Staff · October 12, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

Connor Bedard is awaiting medical clearance to return from shoulder surgery performed on July 9. He has an appointment with a doctor soon and has been skating on a line with Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov at practice, but remains on injured reserve with no activation date set.

Bedard cannot play until he is activated from injured reserve. He held the top power-play spot before his injury (3:23 of power-play time a night) and averaged 0.99 points a night with 20:53 of ice time. The Blackhawks have three games this week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday), but none of those starts matter for fantasy managers until Chicago formally activates him.

Fantasy impact

Player by player

Connor Bedard

Bedard averaged 0.39 goals and 0.60 assists a night before his injury, producing 0.33 power-play points per game while ranking first among all Blackhawks skaters in power-play time. He contributed 2.9 shots a night but only 0.4 hits and 0.4 blocks. His underlying play grades 64 out of 100 among forwards in shots, scoring chances and ice time, a read on how sustainable his scoring is.

Chicago has struggled to a 1-5 start without him and plays Pittsburgh on Tuesday, but Bedard remains unavailable until the team removes him from injured reserve. When he is activated, he will return to first-unit power-play duty and 20:53 of ice time a night. His recent averages come from a sample of 213 games.

What to do

• Keep Connor Bedard on injured reserve in all formats and do not move him into your active lineup until Chicago officially activates him.

• Monitor the Blackhawks' roster moves closely, as his activation will restore their top center and power-play quarterback.

• Expect Bedard to return to nearly 21 minutes a night and the top power-play unit when he is cleared.

Schedule this week