Avalanche aren’t rushing Cale Makar at training camp

The Colorado Avalanche seem to be treading lightly with Cale Makar at this juncture of training camp.

Fans shouldn’t expect to see the NHL’s highest-paid player in any of the first two preseason games, as he’s reportedly dealing with a lower-body injury.

The point is to ramp Makar up so he can be ready for special teams work later next week.

That update comes on the heels of an initial update Jared Bednar provided last Wednesday, stating that Makar would be taking things easy at the beginning of camp.

"He's been on the ice. He's just on a little bit of a lighter program than probably most of our guys coming into main camp," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday. "So we'll see how that sort of sorts out. Whether he's ready to go Day 1 of training camp is probably unlikely. Just kind of playing it safe with him and our organization, but at some point in camp he'll be full go. I don't think it's anything to be worried about at this point. It's not related to the injury he had last year in the playoffs. It's just something new that popped up here with training."

The comments, as quoted by NHL.com last Wednesday, do provide some relief insofar as they’re not related to the shoulder injury that ultimately sidelined Cale Makar during the playoffs. The only question here, however, will be just how serious this lower-body ailment actually is.

For the time being, it seems that everything is just an abundance of precaution.

Noting to worry about with Cale Makar at this point

The bottom line is that there is nothing to worry about. Since Cale Makar’s injury seems to be relatively minor, the club is more focused on getting him ready for the start of the regular season than anything else.

And that approach could mean letting him sit out the preseason games. After all, the likelihood of aggravating a seemingly insignificant injury in a meaningless game is always there.

So, why take any chances?

While there is no real concern at this point, the most important thing is to prioritize Makar’s long-term health moving forward.

In the meantime, look for one of the depth blueliners to get a chance to show what he can do. The guy to keep an eye on is Alex Gagne. He got a day off on Saturday, so he can be ready for tonight’s game against the Utah Mammoth and Monday's game against the Winnipeg Jets.

While Gagne may not necessarily take Cale Makar’s place in the lineup, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do,

It will certainly be interesting to see if this audition will be enough for Gagne to claim a roster spot as the team heads into the 2026-27 regular season.

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