The Colorado Avalanche got some encouraging injury news on Tuesday, suggesting the club may have dodged a major bullet.
Actually, the bullet is more like a cannonball.
Corey Masisak of the Denver Post reported on Tuesday that captain Gabriel Landeskog and top-pairing defenseman Devon Toews are week-to-week. However, there is no risk at this time of either one missing the Olympics.
#Avs coach Jared Bednar said Gabe Landeskog will miss “some weeks” with his upper-body injury. Too early to rule out the Olympics.
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) January 6, 2026
He said Devon Toews is week-to-week. Best-case scenario for him might be two weeks. He’s expected back before Landeskog, though.
Beyond the Olympics themselves, the Avalanche couldn’t be more relieved at the news. In particular, Landeskog’s injury was of a horrific nature. Landeskog slid into the post during the second period of the Avalanche’s Sunday night game against the Florida Panthers.
Everyone in Avalanche Nation feared the worst for Landeskog, especially with his checkered injury history. However, it appears the spill looked much worse than it really was.
As for Toews, he slid feet-first into the boards during the Avalanche’s Saturday night game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Toews left the game and did not return. However, his injury doesn’t appear to be that serious. The club initially called it an upper-body injury.
Regardless, having Toews out for a limited period is great news. The Avalanche remain firmly entrenched as the team’s top defensive club. However, the loss of Toews will certainly affect the club moving forward.
The Avalanche will be rolling with six D for the time being. Waiver pickup, Ilya Solovyov will get his second straight start on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Meanwhile, Taylor Makar could be getting a start on the fourth line, given the open lineup spot left by Landeskog.
Victory Olofsson could get a look on the top line alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Coach Jared Bednar may be reluctant to break up the second line of Artturi Lehkonen, Brock Nelson, and Valeri Nichushkin, one that’s been humming along the last few games.
The Avalanche end their three-game East Coast swing in Tampa before returning to play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.