Bowen Byram is seeing a medical specialist as the Blackhawks try to clear one more hurdle in his recovery from an undisclosed upper-body injury. Jeff Blashill said Monday that the defenseman has not suffered a setback, but he is still not medically cleared to play.
The update lands after Byram missed his eighth consecutive game Monday and his ninth out of 15 this season, leaving Chicago without the player it viewed as its biggest offseason trade acquisition. He has not played since Oct. 13 against the Penguins, when he logged 24 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time before taking a puck to the head.
For readers tracking the recovery, the latest step matters because the timeline has already stretched past three weeks. Byram resumed skating individually on Oct. 23, then practiced with the team the next day in a gray non-contact jersey. Last week, he traveled with the Blackhawks to Detroit and Boston but did not get into either game, and he was seen in the press box in Boston.
Blashill has repeatedly described Byram as day-to-day, but the language around the injury has also made the boundaries clear. The coach has said the issue is not a concussion, yet Monday’s specialist visit showed the club still needs outside medical clearance before it can put him back into game action.
That has forced the Blackhawks to spread the workload across a young blue line. Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser and Ian Cole have taken the hardest minutes, while Sam Rinzel has been sheltered as much as possible and Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski have rotated in and out. Blashill has described the group’s play as up and down, but he also said certain players have definitely grown through the stretch.
The unresolved question now is simple: when the specialist clears Byram, and whether that happens in time for Tuesday, when the Blackhawks open a three-game road trip. Blashill did not answer whether he will travel, which leaves the team waiting on the last medical step before it can restore the defenseman it has missed for nearly three weeks.
