The 2026 Winter Olympics have put Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon on the verge of hockey immortality. His game-winner goal in the final minute of Friday’s semi-final game against Finland sealed Team Canada’s ticket to the gold medal.
At worst, MacKinnon and his Canadian counterparts will skate away with a silver medal. In the best of cases, that medal will be gold. But it seems the medal will come at a price.
The latest chatter suggests that MacKinnon has been playing hurt throughout the tournament. That’s no bueno, as it’s unknown what the extent of the injury could be. You wouldn’t know MacKinnon is banged up by seeing him on the ice. But upon closer inspection, there might be something to it.
MacKinnon played 21:51 in Friday’s game, the third-highest ice time behind Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini. That seems all right. But MacKinnon’s health raised some concerns when he missed practice last Thursday.
At the time, coach Jon Cooper said it wasn’t serious, and there should be “no panic.” Fair enough. Players often get a day off here and there just to keep them fresh.
A TSN article also pointed out that MacKinnon missed most of the third period of Team Canada’s 10-2 blowout win over France last Sunday. In particular, the piece pointed out that MacKinnon took a tough hit from Pierre Crinon, leaving him shaken up on the ice.
Tom Wilson avenged the situation by giving Crinon some food for thought. Wilson’s entanglement led to the first fight in Olympic hockey involving NHLers.
That said, MacKinnon stated that he was fine after the game, despite being part of a knee-on-knee collision at the end of the game. But what seemed particularly revealing was the speculation by the post-game panel in which they discussed that MacKinnon might be playing through something.
Now, we won’t really know what’s up on Saturday. Team Canada will have their practice closed to the media. It makes sense as the Canadian group will be focusing on their matchup with the United States for the gold medal on Sunday.
Unless MacKinnon’s legs fall off, he’ll be in the lineup on Sunday. The big question will be after the Olympics. The NHLers taking part in the Milano-Cortina Games will have about three or four days before they hit the ice again for NHL action.
If MacKinnon is really hurt, the Avalanche may have no choice but to shut him down. If it’s a lingering issue, Colorado can keep him out of the lineup for a short time while he mends. If it’s a bigger issue, MacKinnon may need more time.
Now, there’s no indication that it’s a major issue. If it were, it’s doubtful MacKinnon would be on the ice. Perhaps the Avalanche already know of the situation and have made plans accordingly.
At this point, the most important thing for the Avalanche will be to have MacKinnon healthy for the stretch run and the postseason. If that means shutting him down for a little while, it won’t be a major issue.
But you have to wonder if playing through the Olympics, instead of taking time off, could have exacerbated an already existing injury. We’ll know more about MacKinnon’s potential injury once the festivities are over in Milano and the NHL resumes play on February 26.