Chicago Blackhawks Lose Forward For 3 Months

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without forward Tyler Johnson for the next three months. The 31-year-old had artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck.

This is the same exact surgery that Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel just underwent. Perhaps we will continue to see more NHLers get it from here.

Johnson hasn't played for the Blackhawks since their October 29th contest against the Carolina Hurricanes. Therefore, Chicago has been trying to adjust their lineup without him for quite some time now already. Still, it's disappointing to hear that the veteran forward now is going to miss multiple months from here, as he was viewed as one of their big offseason additions.

The Blackhawks acquired Johnson and a 2023 second-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning over the summer for retired defenseman Brent Seabrook's contract. It was purely a salary dump move for Tampa, as they were well over the salary cap and Johnson's $5 million cap hit certainly isn't cheap. Yet, for Chicago, Johnson was brought in to provide more depth to their offense.

In eight games this season, Johnson has a goal and three points. With that, he has a minus-6 rating, so he will be looking to rebound once he's officially able to return.