Ranking the injury returns that could swing the standings
Bedard, Demko, Jarvis and Marchand are all working back from surgery. Here's how much each recovery timeline matters to its team's season.
An 84-game season with a mid-year Olympic break leaves less room to absorb a slow start. Four notable recoveries will shape how the first months go for four very different teams.
1. Connor Bedard, Blackhawks
Bedard signed his 5-year, $75M extension and then needed shoulder surgery, ruling him out for the start of the season. Chicago already posted a 3.60 xGA/60 with him on the ice last year, so this is not a team that can simply plug the gap. Losing its franchise centerpiece for the opening stretch of a rebuild season is the highest-stakes recovery on this list, even though the long-term outlook of the contract itself is fine.
2. Thatcher Demko, Canucks
Demko’s hip surgery leaves his camp readiness genuinely uncertain, and Vancouver has no clear internal answer if he is not ready by opening night. Goaltending uncertainty compounds fastest of any position, and it lands during a season with a compressed schedule around the Olympic break, leaving little runway to ease him back in.
3. Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes
Jarvis had a torn shoulder finally repaired after Carolina’s Cup win over Vegas. A defending champion carrying a top forward into surgery is a real risk, but Carolina has the deepest roster in the league to absorb a gradual reintegration, and the surgery happened with the benefit of an offseason timeline rather than an in-season scramble.
4. Brad Marchand, Panthers
Marchand, 38, had surgery in August. At his age, recovery timelines matter more than for a 24-year-old, but Florida’s roster depth, similar to Carolina’s, gives the Panthers more room to manage a gradual return than a team with a thinner forward group would have.
Bedard’s absence carries the most weight because Chicago has the least depth to cover for it. Demko’s recovery is the most uncertain in outcome. Carolina and Florida are both well-positioned to be patient, which is exactly the position a contender wants to be in.
Odds and market references describe the situation at the time of writing. You must meet the legal gambling age in your province or territory. See responsible gambling.