Blackhawks Defenseman to Miss at Least 3 Months After Spinal Surgery

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that defenseman Jake McCabe will miss at least the next three months after successful cervical spinal surgery. They also announced that minor league forward Jalen Luypen will also miss 14-18 weeks following a repair to one of his rotator cuffs.

McCabe signed a four-year, $16 million contract with Chicago as a free agent last summer and played in 75 games for the Hawks in '21-22. He scored a career-high in points with 22 after spending the previous eight seasons in the Buffalo Sabres organization, where they did not have great success.

While the Blackhawks' season was southbound without McCabe, he is a massive loss from their blue-line, which is already in shambles. In his absence, Chicago's left side looks like:

Riley Stillman
Jack Johnson
Caleb Jones
Alex Vlasic

...which is basically an AHL grouping. McCabe might be the best defenseman on this team, and he is definitely the best one not named Seth Jones. McCabe missing the start of the season all-but-guarantees that Chicago will get steamrolled in that time, as they do not have anyone who is capable of icing those minutes.

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