Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor will make his season debut tonight, the team announced. He has been activated from long-term injured reserve, per the NHL’s media site. The club still has nearly $5MM in cap space after the move, per PuckPedia, so they’re not in a crunch there.
It’s months overdue, but a welcome sight nonetheless. O’Connor underwent hip surgery in early June last year after the Avs were dispatched by the Stars in the first round of the playoffs. It was his second hip surgery in as many years. The procedure came with a five-to-six-month recovery timeline, meaning he should have been back in the lineup a couple of weeks before Christmas at the latest – especially since reports late in the offseason indicated his recovery was ahead of schedule.
That may have been the case initially. O’Connor then had soft tissue issues pop up in November as he was ramping up toward a return. The pain and swelling that came along with it proved incredibly difficult to manage. O’Connor’s return timeline stretched for weeks without him even skating, but he did eventually return to the ice shortly before the Olympic break. Now, another six weeks later, he’ll finally be an option for Colorado over the last 13 games of the regular season.
Currently in the first season of a six-year, $15MM extension he signed back in 2024 during training camp, O’Connor has proven a valuable defensive checking presence in the Avs’ bottom six over the past several years. The 29-year-old first emerged as a full-time threat amid Colorado’s championship-winning season in 2021-22 and has stuck around as a regular ever since.
When healthy, he’s money in the bank for 20 points. He seemed to have taken another step forward in 2023-24, managing a career-high 13 goals and 25 points in only 57 outings, before his first hip surgery ended his season. His production took a step back to a 10-11–21 line in 80 games last year. His hit totals saw a significant drop-off, too, only logging 0.85 per game after clearing one per night easily through most of his career.
Still, O’Connor’s possession impacts have historically been outstanding. Over the past two seasons, he posted Corsi shares of 54.4% and 53.1% at 5-on-5 despite starting less than 35% of his shifts in the offensive zone. The Avs haven’t trusted any of their forwards to start fewer than 40% of their shifts in the defensive end this year, so having O’Connor back will be a luxury to allow even more offensive zone time for the team’s star-loaded scoring lines.