Coping with injuries, the Avs have their work cut out for them

2 years ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images


Five big names will be missing for the time being. Injuries are always commonplace in sports. For the Colorado Avalanche, it is always the case every year where the injury bug bites.
The Avs are getting the injury bug early this year, as they did last year as well. It leaves five names out for at least the next week. While Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm were already injured to start the year, three more names have joined them.
Those three names are going to hit hard and be missed on the ice. They would be Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram, and Sam Girard. Nichuhshkin got surgery for his ankle, Byram has an LBI leaving him out week-to-week, and Girard with an LBI leaving him out day-to-day.
With those five names, a good chunk of the Avs side is going to be very different. While it was already a little different without Landeskog and Helm, there are going to be plenty of AHL-level players having to be called in for support from the Colorado Eagles.
But the biggest question to come out of this: what the heck is the Avs team going to look like moving forward?
It’s going to be all hands on deck for those who are healthy within the Avs squad to step up and fill in. Particularly, both Alex Newhook and J.T. Compher could end up on the second line and will need to provide.
Meanwhile, the bottom six are going to look vastly different because of this. While Andrew Cogliano was skating in yesterday’s optional skate after hurting his hand in Finland, he could also end up on this list of injuries to start the year. For now, say he’s going to be in the side.


Cogliano just came out on the ice #GoAvsGo #Avs pic.twitter.com/kz8iSdwaXR— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) November 8, 2022



Here’s the best guess of what this Avs team is going to look like moving forward. Already on thin ice (both literally and figuratively), it is imperative this team stays healthy while doing its best to keep up with the shenanigans of the early NHL season. What do you think of the projected side below and their situation now? Let us know in the comments!
Artturi Lehkonen (62) - Nathan MacKinnon (29) - Mikko Rantanen (96)Evan Rodrigues (9) - Alex Newhook (18) - Martin Kaut (61)Andrew Cogliano (11) - J.T. Compher (37) - Logan O’Connor (25)Kurtis MacDermid (56) - Mikhail Maltsev (57) - Dryden Hunt (22)
Devon Toews (7) - Cale Makar (8)Josh Manson (42) - Brad Hunt (77)Jacob MacDonald (26) - Erik Johnson (6)
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