NEWSLETTER
On Tuesday morning the Blackhawks announced two significant injuries, one of which will impact the NHL roster to begin the regular season.
Veteran defenseman Jake McCabe recently underwent successful cervical spine surgery. He is expected to miss 10-12 weeks.
McCabe, who turns 29 on Oct. 12, appeared in 75 games in his first season with the Blackhawks last year. He ranked third among Blackhawks defensemen averaging 20:18 per game, led the team with 166 hits and finished second to Calvin de Haan with 167 blocked shots. de Haan is no longer with the organization.
This is a big hit to the blue line, but the Blackhawks have depth. Math tells us 10 weeks from today is around Thanksgiving for his return. This could open the door for one of Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula or Alex Vlasic to get some run in the first two months of the regular season.
The Blackhawks also announced prospect Jalen Luypen recently had a procedure to repair his left rotator cuff. He is expected to return in 14-18 weeks.
Luypen, 20, was a seventh-round pick in 2021 by the Blackhawks who had a huge season for Edmonton in the WHL last year. He scored 29 goals with 35 assists in 66 games and added four goals and five assists in 19 playoff games before the injury cut his postseason short. He wasn’t able to participate in the Blackhawks’ development camp in July.
General manager Kyle Davidson signed Luypen to an entry-level contract this summer.
