The Colorado Avalanche were dealt a blow on Sunday with the news that Logan O’Connor would miss the rest of the 2023-24 season due to hip surgery. O’Connor was having a career year, posting 13 goals and 12 assists in 57 games, and a plus-minus of +13. Before this season, O’Connor hadn’t scored more than nine goals in a season—he scored nine last season. O’Connor has six game-winning goals, four of which came this season. He stepped up when the team needed him the most.
I’m curious to know at what point the Colorado Avalanche knew or had an idea of O’Connor’s status. They were very active ahead of the 2023-24 NHL trade deadline, which makes me believe they had an idea that there was at least a chance he would require this sort of procedure, leading to his season being over. Either that, or it was just plain lucky that they were able to get other guys in the building when they did.
The last game that O’Connor played in was March 4th against the Chicago Blackhawks. He played 11:57 minutes in that game.
Once again, the Colorado Avalanche must figure out who best fits each line. I love that the team was active at the trade deadline, and it felt like they were faster than before the new acquisitions. I’m hoping that they are able to continue to build on their three-game win streak; while beating the Blackhawks should always be a “must”, they dominated the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday 7-2 and were able to pull out the win against the Minnesota Wild on Friday in overtime 2-1.
Big performances by everybody across the team are greatly needed especially now with O’Connor done for the season. While he isn’t a top player like Nathan MacKinnon or Valeri Nichushkin, he’s an important player on the fourth line.
Recently, Avalanche prospect Nikolai Kovalenko played in a KHL playoff game but near the end suffered what appears to be a knee injury.
The Avalanche believe Nikolai Kovalenko can help the team down the stretch and into the playoffs. They know there will be an adjustment but they feel he can be an NHL player.
— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) March 7, 2024
"He's not a kid. He's a man."
Things could be bad if the Avalanche continue to suffer serious injuries, but hopefully, Kovalenko will be able to go soon and his injury isn’t as bad as it looked.