Photo credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
Wyatt Kaiser’s injury vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets jolted the Chicago Blackhawks, and the fear hit fast.
It happened in the first period when Kaiser got tangled up with Zach Werenski, and the Hawks defender immediately looked in trouble.
Kaiser tried to move, then stopped.
He needed help getting off the ice and barely put weight on his left leg on the way to the locker room.
Chicago later announced he would not return.
That’s the gut punch part, because you could feel the bench go quiet the moment he couldn’t push off.
Kaiser is 23, a 2020 third-round pick, 81st overall, drafted by the Blackhawks, and he has been forcing his way up the depth chart all season.
Fans reacted to the scene of the defenseman’s injury quite poorly.
-“He’s done for the season”
-“Absolutely gut wrenching oh dear”
He’s at 5-6-11 in 51 games, with a growing workload that’s started to look like real trust.
Wyatt Kaiser injury puts Chicago Blackhawks deadline plans on edge
Blackhawks fans have that sick, familiar feeling right now, because the replay already looked like the kind that changes a season.
Even if it’s “just” a lower-body injury on the initial report, the way he left suggests more testing, more waiting, and a lot more anxiety.
The timing is brutal, too, because Kaiser is signed through 2026-27 at a $1.7 million cap hit, and he was supposed to be part of the steady build, not a medical update.
If he’s out long-term, the blue line gets thin in a hurry, and that ripples right into the trade deadline conversation.
The Blackhawks are 22-25-9, so they can’t pretend they’re buying, but they also can’t ice an AHL-heavy defense and expect development to stay on track.
Now it’s about the next update and whether this turns into the kind of absence the Hawks simply cannot patch.
Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider
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Chicago Blackhawks’ Wyatt Kaiser suffers gruesome injury that could be season-ending
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