Connor Bedard is expected to be out until November after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder, and the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes will open the season without forward Seth Jarvis, according to NHL.com season previews published Monday.
Bedard injured the shoulder while practising in Vancouver on July 2, NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers reported. The centre has led the Chicago Blackhawks in scoring in each of his three NHL seasons, most recently with 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) in 69 games, and Myers wrote that his absence will test Chicago’s depth at centre immediately.
The Blackhawks finished 29-39-14 last season, eighth in the Central Division. They averaged 2.56 goals per game, 30th in the NHL, and allowed 3.29, 27th.
Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato are the centres left to absorb the load under second-year coach Jeff Blashill, per NHL.com. Roman Kantserov, the 21-year-old winger who arrives from Metallurg of the Kontinental Hockey League after a 64-point season in 63 games, had been expected to play alongside Bedard.
Chicago reshaped its roster around him over the summer regardless. Patrick Kane returned on a two-year, $16-million contract, and defenceman Bowen Byram, acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, signed a six-year, $75-million deal on July 1 carrying a $12.5-million average annual value. NHL.com reported the Blackhawks sent the Nos. 4 and 45 picks in the 2026 draft and defenceman Louis Crevier to Buffalo for Byram, and that they view him as their No. 1 defenceman after he played behind Cale Makar in Colorado and Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo.
In Carolina, Jarvis had shoulder surgery in June that required four to six months of recovery, NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti reported. The Hurricanes went 53-22-7 last season, finished first in the Metropolitan Division and beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final in June. Gulitti wrote that the injury deprives coach Rod Brind’Amour of one of his top forwards, and one of his best energy sources, heading into an 84-game schedule.
Carolina’s other significant change has an Edmonton dimension. Frederik Andersen left for the Oilers in free agency, leaving Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov as the Hurricanes’ goaltending duo. Bussi, claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers, went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .895 save percentage and two shutouts in the regular season, then went 3-1 with a 1.60 GAA and a .931 save percentage in the Cup Final after Andersen was injured. Kochetkov was limited to nine NHL games last season by a lower-body injury that required surgery.
The Hurricanes also have an unresolved contract on defence. Alexander Nikishin remains an unsigned restricted free agent, and Gulitti reported that rookie Joel Nystrom, who had 10 points in 38 games last season, could get regular NHL work if that does not change.
For Edmonton, the schedule turns to actual hockey on Monday night. The Oilers’ rookies face the Calgary Flames rookies at 6 p.m. MT at the Scotiabank Saddledome in an exhibition streamed on Oilers+, according to the club’s Sept. 10 release. Edmonton’s rookie roster of 25 players includes Isaac Howard, Josh Samanski, Connor Clattenburg and Quinn Hutson, all of whom saw NHL time last season.
The 2026-27 regular season opens Sept. 29, when the Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks.
Photo: Connor Bedard, right, of the Chicago Blackhawks during a game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 14, 2024. Credit Jenn G (Flickr: jennthulhu), licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
