The Colorado Avalanche are expected to have several representatives at the 206 Olympics in Milano-Cortina. The hype surrounding a truly global best-on-best event is something fans and TV networks have been dreaming about for over a decade.
But there’s a case to be made about encouraging the Avalanche’s star players to skip the Olympics in favor of taking a break. I’ll build my argument on two main points.
In earlier posts, I’ve discussed how grueling the 2025-26 schedule is shaping up to be. The Avalanche will play a packed schedule right up to the Olympic break, get about three weeks off, and then hit the ground running until the end of the regular season.
Then, hopefully, the Avalanche will embark on a playoff run. All in all, the season itself will be rough enough on players. Add to that the intense nature of the Olympic tourney, and the toll could be devastating on the Avalanche’s best players.
That means that Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, representing Canada, will face 20+ minutes a night for Team Canada. Martin Necas will likely be a top-liner for Czechia. Gabe Landeskog, knee notwithstanding, will also play a key role for Sweden. Artturi Lehkonen is a top-six forward for Finland. There’s also Devon Toews, who’ll likely be Makar’s defensive partner on Team Canada. Brock Nelson will also be in the mix for Team USA. MacKenzie Blackwood is a dark horse for Team Canada, as well.
The Avalanche could well have six players suit up for their respective home countries at the 2026 Olympics. Other players like Blackwood could creep into the conversation. That means a good chunk of the Avalanche’s lineup could take the needless toll of travel, jet lag, and playing in additional games, when they could stay home and recover.
Colorado Avalanche should be losing sleep over injuries
The other major component of this argument pertains to injuries. During last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off, three stars sustained significant injuries. Two of them missed the remainder of the regular season for their respective clubs.
The first player that went down was Shea Theodore for Team Canada. He suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the tourney. He missed some time for the Vegas Golden Knights, but recovered to return in time for the end of the regular season and playoffs.
However, Charlie McAvoy wasn’t as lucky. McAvoy sustained an injury that didn’t get the medical attention it deserved. The Boston Bruins blasted Team USA for the way they handled the situation.
Ultimately, McAvoy missed the rest of the season. The Bruins were fine with shutting him down as they weren’t on pace to make the playoffs, anyway.
Then, there was the case of Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk sustained a sports hernia during the 4 Nations. He missed the final game and the remainder of the regular season for the Florida Panthers. He returned for the Panthers’ playoff run, but has now undergone surgery to repair the injury and could miss two to three months of the season.
So now, imagine something like this happened to Cale Makar. Imagine the horror of losing Nathan MacKinnon to a sports hernia. What if Gabe Landeskog suffers a serious setback to his knee?
What would such a scenario do to the Colorado Avalanche’s playoff chances? Losing Makar for the remainder of the season would be a devastating blow.
The same could be said about Landeskog, Lehkonen, Necas, and Nelson. What nightmares could be unleashed if MacKinnon needs season-ending surgery?
While the Avalanche can’t block any of their players from participating in the Olympics, the best the team can hope for is that nothing happens to them injury-wise. A bruised ego will heal just fine. But a significant injury could derail the Avalanche’s chances of pursuing a Stanley Cup.