A final Avalanche of injuries report

The Colorado Avalanche hosted a somewhat end-of-season conference for the first time in a long time but for one man at the very end of this list specifically. Those media members in attendance did make sure to ask about others who ended the season injured, just as the entire season had been for the majority of guys. Let’s go over those players here.

Josh Manson

Manson had come back from a lower-body injury to start the playoffs and tried his best to play through the pain. His play took a sharp downturn and was noticeable on the ice as he was a thorn in the Avs's defense, not living up to his usual standard of play.

Manson didn’t play in Game 6 or Game 7 due to the continuation of his lower-body injury, and couldn’t play through the pain. Therefore, he had surgery to help fix his issues. He is expected to recover this offseason and be ready for the start of the 2023-24 regular season.

Artturi Lehkonen

Lehkonen had looked to join his Finnish teammate Mikko Rantanen at the World Championships. But, it was announced at the same time as Rantanen’s participation in the World Championships that Lehkonen had a broken toe and would not play.

Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland announced in the press conference Tuesday morning Lehkonen had also broken a finger in the series against the Seattle Kraken. Again, he should be ready to go for the season.

Andrew Cogliano

Cogliano was on the receiving end of a dangerous hit by Jordan Eberle. Despite the inexplicable decision to not suspend him for the hit, Cogliano did return to the game and hence was probably the reason why Eberle was allowed to play in Game 7.

New revelations after the fact saw Cogliano actually suffer a fractured neck which left him out of the playoffs. Even though the Avs didn’t advance, the recovery time for him is six to eight weeks, somehow with no surgery. He also played through an AC sprain in the regular season. We’ll see what decision he ends up ultimately making on his playing career, however.

Darren Helm

Helm had a barrage of injuries which derailed his entire season. He only played 12 games all year, including only Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No matter what happens, you have to feel for him.

Speaking of what happens to him, no one really knows. Helm was briefly mentioned in the press conference about how his absence was greatly noticed on the ice. But, there was no update provided on him and his status. Again, it leaves people wondering what is next for him, and if this is truly it for him, which is a sad reality of how his career could possibly end.

Pavel Francouz

Francouz also battled injuries last season, as just about everybody did. Francouz didn’t see any playoff action but was not backing up Alexandar Georgiev toward the end of the run.

Frankie had surgery himself for an abductor problem. Again, he is expected to recover and be ready for the start of the season.

Valeri Nichuhskin

While not injury-related, Nichushkin remains to be in the headlines when it comes to his availability and seeing what’s next for him and his journey, with or without the Avs. His whereabouts are still unknown after an incident involving an intoxicated woman in his hotel room.

MacFarland said he was unable to comment on the whereabouts of Nichushkin at this time. However, he did mention he hopes to continue to be an important part of the team moving forward. With the uncertainty of it all, at this point who knows what will happen with Nichushkin on or off the ice beside himself.

Gabriel Landeskog

Finally, the last name on this list and the entire reason why there was a press conference in the first place: the captain himself. Of course, it was sorrowful news to hear he would be having cartilage transplant surgery today and would miss the entirety of the ‘23-24 season.

However, he remains confident he will return and is leaving the possibility of playing in next season’s playoffs open. He also spoke to Chicago Bulls star Lonzo Ball about the surgery, as he also recently underwent it, with an 85 percent success rate.

Landeskog said he hasn’t considered retirement up to this point and exhausted all possible options, despite being offered this surgery back in September of last year. His absence will continue to be missed on the ice, but hopefully, he will remain active off the ice in his recovery and also help the team too.