Avalanche’s Josh Manson Out Three To Four Weeks

March 19: Manson carries a three-to-four-week timeline for his return, Bednar told Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports today. That puts him back in the lineup during the final week of the regular season.

March 17: Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson has already missed one game with an upper-body injury and will remain sidelined for a couple of weeks at least, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters following yesterday’s win over the Stars (via Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports).

Manson left the game during the second period of Friday’s win in Calgary, although it’s unclear when he sustained the injury. It’s similarly unclear whether it’s linked to the upper-body issue that held him out of the lineup for 12 games earlier in the season.

Acquired from the Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline, Manson immediately factored in as a key depth presence on the Colorado blue line en route to their Stanley Cup win that year. The physical 6’3″ righty landed a four-year, $18MM extension that summer to remain in Denver, but his time with the Avs since has been marred by injuries.

Since the 2022-23 campaign, his first full season in Colorado, Manson has made 151 of 232 possible regular-season appearances – healthy enough to play just 65% of the time. He stayed healthy last year, skating in 70-plus games for the fifth time in his 11-year career, but missed most of 2022-23 with a lower-body injury and nearly 30% of Colorado’s 2024-25 schedule with varying injuries.

In 48 games this season, the 33-year-old has 1-14–15 with a minus-six rating. He’s averaged 18:02 per game, his highest usage since arriving in Denver. His 105 hits lead Colorado defenders despite his extended absences, but he’s been one of the Avs’ worst two-way players with a -4.8 relative CF% and a team-worst -7.7 expected rating at even strength.

The Avs don’t have any other injuries on their blue line right now, but their right-side depth remains a point of weakness even after an active trade deadline. Without Manson, it’s depth pieces Erik Johnson and Sam Malinski manning second- and third-pairing duties behind superstar Cale Makar.