DENVER (AP) – Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor will undergo hip surgery this week and miss the remainder of the season, coach Jared Bednar announced Sunday.
O'Connor has missed six games since the All-Star break, all of them injury-related. He played in 57 games this season and had 13 goals and 12 assists. Bednar said it is unclear when O'Connor will return or whether he will be ready for next season's training camp.
“It depends on what they find and what they find and what they end up doing,” explained Bednar, whose team begins a four-game road trip in Calgary on Tuesday.
The Avalanche made a series of moves at the trade deadline to strengthen their depth. They acquired defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia and center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo. They then added forward Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota and center Yakov Trenin from Nashville. Also back is Valeri Nichushkin, who was sidelined for about two months after receiving care through the Player Assistance Program. He scored the game-winning goal in OT against Minnesota on Friday.
Coach Bednar said after Sunday's practice that forward Zach Parise is suffering from an undisclosed injury. The team is currently dealing with health issues in the locker room, affecting Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton and Jack Johnson.
Bednar addressed the possibility of captain Gabriel Landeskog returning this season and said the team has a potential date in mind, sometime in the playoffs, and will stick to it. Landeskog underwent cartilage replacement surgery in his right knee in May and has missed his second straight season. The Swedish standout hasn't played since June 26, 2022, in the Stanley Cup Championship game in Tampa Bay.
“He has a timeline that says, 'I'm not going to be back by this date,' regardless of how good he feels,” Bednar explained. “We're stuck with that. That's his career. So regardless of where we are in the playoff series, we're not going to mess with that. So that's No. 1.”
“He won't be back by that date and he needs to compose himself so that he can hopefully come back. There's no clarity on that.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
