Richardson also announced that captain Nick Foligno would also miss time with a fractured finger suffered, resulting in a skirmish in retaliation for the Bedard hit.
Connor Bedard heads to the dressing room after taking a big hit from Brendan Smith. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/YqLPT6pFNT
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 6, 2024
What This Means for the Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are last in the Central Division standings with the second-worst record in the Western Conference. Chicago wasn’t winning games with both in the lineup, so in the grand scheme of things, it only means their franchise player could miss up to six weeks.
In the short term? Well, the Blackhawks are cooked without Bedard on the ice, but they did manage to end a five-game losing streak Sunday afternoon against a mediocre Calgary Flames group, its second-consecutive loss.
The worst part is Bedard earned a well-deserved All-Star selection that he likely won’t play in. Richardson didn’t give a timetable for Bedard’s return, but typically, this injury takes anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to mend.
Chicago could opt to be careful with their franchise player, and that could affect his Calder Trophy Award chances as the top rookie in the NHL.
What This Means for Bedard’s Calder Trophy Odds
Bedard is still the overwhelming favorite. According to the NHL website, Bedard leads his NHL rookie class in points (33), goals (15), and assists (18) for a horrible team without much help.
FanDuel IL has an interesting Calder Trophy market with Bedard -240 against the rest of the Field (+186). That means if any other player edges out Bedard, they would win $186 for a $100 stake.
Bedard isn’t the only rookie performing well this season, but he is the most productive and the most well-known. With the uncertainty of the injury and when/if the Blackhawks star returns, here are some names we should keep our eye on.
Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is having a fine rookie season. The rookie defenseman has recorded 23 points on seven tallies and 16 helpers. He’s recorded a point in four of his last five games and is really looking comfortable in an NHL jersey.
Minnesota Wild rookie center Marco Rossi is having a terrific season as well. He’s second amongst the rookie class in points (24) and has a +/- +8, which means he’s playing strong on both ends of the rink for the Wild. Rossi has the second-most goals in his rookie class and two points over his last five tilts.
Columbus Blue Jackets rookie center Adam Fantili is another rookie having a fine season. He has 24 points but a disastrous +/- of -13. He is a sniper with a pair of goals and one assist over his last five, but he’s starting to get more shifts and could make a strong move up the FanDuel Calder Trophy odds board.
While no goaltender has won since 2009, Carolina Hurricane rookie netminder Pyotr Kocketov has been tremendous for the Hurricanes. Kochetov is 11-7-3 for the second-place Hurricanes with the tenth-best goals-against average in the entire league.
Finally, while there is no such thing as a sure thing, Bedard should win the Calder Trophy. The only thing preventing this would be missing the remainder of the season and one of these other rookies leading their team to a division banner.
For more Illinois sports betting picks, check us out at IL Betting.
