O'Connor Still Not Close To Returning, Kiviranta (Eye) Will Play Tonight
- The Avalanche have been without winger Logan O’Connor all season as he works his way back from offseason hip surgery. However, as Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now relays, the 29-year-old is now dealing with another issue that head coach Jared Bednar says is still being evaluated. The team hopes to know more about his status within the next week or two. While he has been cleared from the hip injury, it appears that Colorado will be without one of their key bottom-six forwards for a while yet. O’Connor is currently on LTIR although the Avs have a low enough team payroll at the moment that they’re not actually using it at the moment.
- Meanwhile, the news is better for winger Joel Kiviranta. The 29-year-old exited Thursday’s game with an eye issue but Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports mentions (Twitter link) that Kiviranta will suit up tonight against Nashville. Kiviranta had a breakout year for the Avalanche last season, scoring 16 goals in 79 games but offense has been harder to come by this year as he has been limited to just a goal and an assist in 14 outings so far.
Avalanche Loan Ilya Solovyov To AHL On Conditioning Assignment
The Avalanche announced this morning that they’ve loaned left-shot defender Ilya Solovyov to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles for a conditioning stint. He can remain in the minors for up to two weeks without having to be placed on waivers, sticking around on the Avs’ active roster while doing so.
Solovyov, 25, was something of an intriguing waiver claim from the Flames at the start of the season, but has struggled to gain a foothold in the lineup. He made just nine appearances and none in well over a month, last playing on Nov. 1. He’s served as a healthy scratch in 18 straight games. Averaging 11:33 of ice time per game, he’s gone without a point and has a -4 rating despite some strong 5-on-5 metrics (59.1 CF%, 59.9 xGF%).
Before his waiver claim, Solovyov had spent most of the last four seasons in the AHL with Stockton/Calgary in the Flames’ system. A seventh-round pick in 2020, the 6’3″ lefty is a promising depth two-way threat. He totaled 69 points and a +33 rating in 229 AHL games before joining the Avs, and he has 15 games of NHL experience with Calgary over the last two years.
That much time off isn’t good for anyone, particularly a name who potentially still has a little bit of development left in the tank. The long-overdue conditioning assignment could get Solovyov into as many as four games before the Eagles take their holiday break, beginning tonight against the Ontario Reign. In the meantime, the Avs won’t have an extra defenseman available on game days if needed, but can fix that with a corresponding recall. They have an open roster spot they can use, even with Solovyov effectively serving as dead weight for the next several days.
Colorado Avalanche Activate Gavin Brindley
The Colorado Avalanche announced today that forward Gavin Brindley has been activated off of injured reserve.
On Dec. 3, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media that Brindley was ahead of schedule in his injury recovery process, and was likely to return before the conclusion of the club’s road trip. Tonight is the last game of the team’s road trip before they head home to play the Florida Panthers on Thursday, so Brindley’s activation today lines up directly with Bednar’s expectation.
Brindley last played in Colorado’s Nov. 20 contest against the New York Rangers. He sustained a lower-body injury and was designated week-to-week. Brindley’s injury ended up costing him nine games in total.
A 2023 high second-round pick, Brindley has made the most of his start to the 2025-26 season. He struggled to adjust to professional hockey last year (his first campaign as a pro since leaving the University of Michigan), scoring just six goals and 17 points in 52 AHL games. The Columbus Blue Jackets ended up trading Brindley over the summer as part of a package of assets that landed them Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle.
Still exempt from waivers, most likely expected Brindley to require some more time in the AHL before becoming a full-time NHLer. Brindley’s lackluster production in his rookie AHL campaign was seen as a sign that he might need some more time to grow his game before making an impact in the world’s top league.
Brindley beat those expectations by making the Avalanche’s NHL team out of training camp, and he has made the most of limited ice time this season. Despite averaging just 9:17 time on ice per game, including very little special teams usage, Brindley has managed a healthy eight points in 18 games. That’s a 32-point 82-game scoring pace, a decent output for a rookie, and especially a rookie in such a limited role.
Brindley has always been credited with an exemplary compete level and work ethic, and he’s effectively leveraged those traits into concrete production so far in Colorado. While his injury may have slowed his momentum, his re-addition to the Avalanche’s healthy roster strengthens what is already one of, if not the best lineups in the NHL.
Avalance Reassign Trent Miner, Scott Wedgewood Expected To Return
Avalanche Reassign Tristen Nielsen
Saturday: It was a short-lived recall for Nielsen. Following their game this afternoon (in which he didn’t play), the Avs announced (Twitter link) that he has been sent back to the Eagles.
Friday: The Avalanche have added some extra depth up front in advance of their game against the Rangers on Saturday. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado.
The 25-year-old started the season on a minor league deal but a strong showing early on with the Eagles resulted in the Avs converting him to a two-year, two-way NHL pact that carries a $775K cap charge. This is now his third recall since signing that contract in late October.
Nielsen has played in four games with the Avalanche, picking up an assist, three shots on goal, and nine hits in 6:18 of playing time per night on their fourth line. He has been much more productive with the Eagles, tallying 10 goals and five assists in 18 outings in the minors.
Colorado already had a full 23-player roster following Wednesday’s recall of Trent Miner from the Eagles with Scott Wedgewood injured. Accordingly, another roster move needed to be made before officially adding Nielsen to the roster but that was not announced by the team. If Wedgewood is going to miss some time, he could land on injured reserve while Gavin Brindley – though returning soon – is eligible to retroactively be placed on IR.
Injury Updates On Gavin Brindley, Logan O'Connor
Speaking on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (via Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette), head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar, provided a few injury updates to forwards Gavin Brindley and Logan O’Connor. In a positive development, Bednar indicated that Brindley is ahead of schedule and is expected to return by the end of the team’s current road trip.
Brindley, 21, has been a valuable depth scorer for the Avalanche this season, registering four goals and seven points in 18 games, averaging 9:17 of ice time per night. That production in so few minutes garnered a two-year, $1.75MM extension from Colorado earlier in the season. Despite offering quality production in the team’s bottom-six, it’s difficult to say if the scorching Avalanche even noticed Brindley’s absence, as they’ve managed a 5-0-1 record in the six games without him so far while outscoring opponents 22-6.
Colorado Avalanche Recall Trent Miner
The Colorado Avalanche announced today that goalie Trent Miner has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. This roster move comes in the aftermath of an injury suffered by netminder Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood left the team’s Dec. 2 contest with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Head coach Jared Bednar said last night that he wasn’t sure whether the organization would need to recall a third goalie for its upcoming road trip, but today’s recall indicates that the organization is at least preparing for the possibility that Wedgewood could miss time. The Avalanche play tomorrow on Long Island and continue on the road until their Dec. 11 game against the Florida Panthers.
Miner, 24, returns to the Avalanche’s NHL roster for the second time this season. Miner was in the NHL in October, playing in two games and recording a .909 save percentage. Since being sent down to AHL Colorado, Miner has gone 4-1 with a .908 save percentage. He’s proven himself to be a capable AHL goalie over the last few years, posting an impressive career save percentage of .919 in more than 70 games played.
Miner is under contract through next season on a two-way basis with a $775K NHL AAV, and looks poised to serve as the Avalanche’s organizational No. 3 goalie through the end of this season at least. Looking forward to next year, the one-year, $2.5MM AAV contract extension Wedgewood signed on Nov. 13 does appear at this point to block Miner’s path to becoming part of Colorado’s NHL tandem.
But if he can keep putting together quality AHL performances, and find a way to show his talent in his limited NHL opportunities, he could get looks this summer as a potential candidate to become an NHL backup outside of Colorado.
Avalanche’s Scott Wedgewood Leaves Due To Injury
The Colorado Avalanche announced mid-game that goaltender Scott Wedgewood will not return versus Vancouver due to an upper-body injury. It is not immediately clear what happened to the netminder, but given that he managed to complete the second period, hopefully his absence is cautionary, and the veteran will not need to miss any additional time.
Wedgewood, 33, has been one of the top stories so far this season. In his first full season with Colorado, he has posted a remarkable 13-1-3 record, with a .921 save percentage and 2.08 goals-against-average. Such performance fetched himself a one-year extension, which was inked in mid-November. Although it is hard to ignore the strength of the team in front of him, Wedgewood has played at such a level as a backup with Arizona and Dallas in the past, as he and Colorado have been a perfect match.
Mackenzie Blackwood, another attainable goalie who flashed enough potential elsewhere to earn an envious position with the Avalanche, took over for the third period. Now, updates on Wedgewood will be watched closely, but given the recent play of the NHL’s top team, they will likely not miss a beat.
Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin Returning To Lineup
The Avalanche will have winger Valeri Nichushkin back in the lineup for tonight’s game against the Canucks, Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now reports. He was never placed on injured reserve, so no corresponding move is required.
While Nichushkin remains a core piece of Colorado’s top six forward group, the first-place Avs haven’t looked worse for wear without him. Since Nichushkin went down with a lower-body injury on Nov. 11, the Avs have gone 7-0-1 and still have a four-point gap on first place with an 18-1-6 record overall. Their first and only regulation loss came more than a month ago against the Bruins on Oct. 25.
Nichushkin was ruled week-to-week as a result of his injury, but it was clear in the past couple of days that his return was imminent. He’s no stranger to lengthy absences, notwithstanding his stints in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in the last few years. Ankle issues took out a good portion of his 2022-23 campaign, and he missed 21 games with a lower-body issue last year.
Still, the 10th overall pick back in 2013 has been an elite two-way presence since his big breakout with the Avs in 2021-22. In the five years since, he’s recorded a 96-102–198 scoring line in 226 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. Among players with at least 100 appearances during that time, Nichushkin’s 0.86 points per game rank 58th and his +54 rating ranks 27th. His production has dipped since last season’s return from another stint in the program, though. He’s put up a more conservative 5-7–12 scoring line in 17 games this year and has churned out 0.77 points per game since the beginning of 2024-25.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog‘s return from a multi-year absence has eaten into Nichushkin’s ice time this season, bringing it down to around the 18-minute mark. His reduced output should likely remain the expectation going forward, but that’s still spectacular value for his $6.125MM cap hit as he trods along through the fourth season of his eight-year deal. His line with Landeskog and Brock Nelson has been dominant at controlling play – as has virtually every line combo Colorado’s rolled out this year – controlling 60.7% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.
Latest On Valeri Nichushkin
The Philadelphia Flyers announced mid game that forward Tyson Foerster will not return after sustaining an upper-body injury. The winger unloaded on a one-timer and immediately went down in a non-contact play, appearing to favor his shoulder. Although Foerster was on injured reserve earlier this season, it was a lower-body injury with no apparent correlation.
Foerster, 23, was a great find at 23rd overall by the Flyers in 2020. The 6’2” winger has scored nine goals in 20 games, on track to take another step forward after last year’s 25 goal, 18 assist campaign where he appeared in 81 games. Especially as Philadelphia has found their stride of late, firmly in the Wild Card mix as of today, the hope will be that the top line forward will not be out for long.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Toronto Head Coach Craig Berube told David Alter of The Hockey News that defenseman Brandon Carlo had a setback in his recovery, and will return home to see a specialist. Placed on IR two weeks ago, the 29-year-old has been dealing with a lower-body injury. As he practiced in recent days, it appeared Carlo could be gearing up for a return tomorrow at Florida, before the setback. The towering blueliner’s struggles to acclimate to the Leafs have been well discussed, especially considering the steep package GM Brad Treliving gave up. Troy Stecher, claimed off waivers, has been a steady presence to alleviate pressure on Philippe Myers in Carlo’s absence, but if the Leafs are to turn their season around, Carlo must find his game when healthy.
- Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar told Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports that forward Valeri Nichushkin is a “possibility” for tomorrow, as Colorado hosts Vancouver. The often injured 30-year-old went down with a lower-body ailment against the Ducks on November 12th and was listed as week-to-week. When ready, Nichushkin will likely jump right back into a top-six role where he had 12 points in 17 games before going down. In his absence, Ross Colton has filled in adequately and the team has not missed a beat, currently atop the league with just one regulation loss, a sign of their depth after a wildly successful roster shakeup.