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Bowen Byram

Avalanche Release Multiple Injury Updates

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has released an update on a slew of players in preparation for the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Bednar shared that newcomers Jonathan Drouin and Tomas Tatar are likely to miss the matchup, while Cale Makar and Bowen Byram are game-time decisions. Drouin and Tatar were the last two skaters on the practice ice for Colorado, hinting that they could be leaning towards sitting out. If they do miss time, Bednar hinted at Kurtis MacDermid drawing into the lineup.

Drouin and Tatar have both played in all eight games for Colorado this season, with very different results. Drouin is off to a slow start, netting a sole assist on the season while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per game. Tatar has served in a similar role to Drouin – averaging 12 minutes of ice time each game – but has managed four assists. The duo are two of three Colorado forwards that haven’t scored a goal yet this season – Andrew Cogliano being the other.

Bednar said yesterday that one of Byram or Makar would likely sit out of the team’s Wednesday outing. Which defender may miss time is, unfortunately, unclear. While Byram has made an impact through the early going, he doesn’t bring the takeover ability that Makar can.

The Avalanche are now faced with the decision of whether to ice 12 forwards and six defensemen, or 11 forwards and seven defensemen – given the injuries to two top-nine forwards. MacDermid is likely to play regardless of what decision Colorado makes here – either slotting in on offense or defense depending where they need support. If Colorado decides to ice 11 forwards, Caleb Jones will draw in as the seventh defender. If they ice 12 forwards, Riley Tufte is expected to make his Avalanche debut. Both players were recalled to the NHL lineup yesterday.

Avalanche Provide Injury Update On Makar, Byram

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared that Cale Makar and Bowen Byram are both banged up, but one of the two will play in the team’s Wednesday matchup.

Makar was on the receiving end of a dangerous play by the Buffalo Sabres’ Kyle Okposo and left the ice briefly. He was able to return for the third period but is still banged up enough to bring his availability into question. Makar has continued his dominant career into this season, netting three goals and nine points through eight games so far this season. The former Norris Trophy winner is undeniably one of the best defenders in the NHL, making even one game without him something tough to stomach.

Byram hasn’t carried the same esteem as Makar this season, though he’s still managed to make impacts through eight games on the season. He’s tallied two points, 14 penalty minutes, and a +2 on the year. Byram’s next game will be his 100th NHL game – an impressive milestone for the former fourth-overall selection. The 22-year-old has managed 45 points and 87 penalty minutes in the 99 career games he’s played so far.

This announcement brings some clarity to Colorado calling up Caleb Jones earlier today. The veteran of 217 NHL games failed to establish himself in Colorado’s training camp, although he has managed four points in eight AHL games this season. It’s the first time that Jones has played in the AHL since 2019-20, when he tallied 11 points in 14 AHL games. He will likely serve as the top fill-in option for an Avalanche team that isn’t currently carrying any other extra defenders. If Jones does slot in, Colorado will become the third NHL team that he’s played for.

Colorado Avalanche Extend Bowen Byram

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The Colorado Avalanche have locked in budding defenseman Bowen Byram on a very team-friendly bridge deal, signing him to a two-year deal worth $3.85MM per season, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.

Byram, a highly touted prospect from the start, has shown tremendous potential since being drafted fourth overall by the Avalanche in 2019. He’s bucked the trend for defensemen taking longer to develop, already breaking out as a true top-four threat by age 22 after recording 24 points in 42 games last year, averaging nearly 22 minutes per game. Byram’s exceptional skating ability, hockey sense, and offensive instincts make him a dynamic presence behind the team’s top unit of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.

The bridge deal does provide Colorado some more space to add to its forward group but also provides some insurance against a real possibility of Byram continuing to encounter significant injury issues. Concussions and lower-body ailments have limited him to just 91 games over the past three seasons, and while he’s excelled during that time, whether he can continue a long career in a top-flight role is not a certainty.

Byram will be an RFA again upon expiry in 2025 and will be due a $3.85MM qualifying offer.

West Notes: Byram, Flames, Coyotes

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The Colorado Avalanche are in for a tumultuous offseason. The team has just five forwards on the NHL roster under contract for 2023-24, and most of their pending free agents are unrestricted.

One of the few players needing a new contract under team control, however, is promising young defender Bowen Byram. In his latest for The Athletic, Peter Baugh outlined what the 21-year-old’s next contract could look like, given Byram’s stellar play in limited NHL action due to frequent injuries.

The most expensive comparable listed for Byram is the only in-house one in Baugh’s article – Samuel Girard, who signed a seven-year, $5MM average annual value contract extension after just two NHL seasons. The deal’s been met with mixed results, with injury issues of his own leading Girard’s play to become inconsistent in the past few seasons. But the rest of Baugh’s list, which includes players such as Noah Dobson, Vince Dunn, Adam Boqvist, and Travis Sanheim, indicates a two-to-three-year deal in the $3MM-$4MM range is more likely based on past signings.

  • With their upper management set in stone, expect the Calgary Flames’ focus to immediately shift to hiring a new head coach, says TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flames haven’t seen their name pop up in coaching rumors as much as other teams on the market, but their focus, up until last weekend, was restricted to naming their next general manager. Now that the hires of Craig Conroy and Dave Nonis are expected to be made official today, Calgary’s name will start coming up in connection to potential coaching candidates.
  • If the Arizona Coyotes can’t make their reported secondary arena plan in Mesa come to fruition, PHNX Sports’ Greg Esposito says the team’s backup-backup plan could come in the form of Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, who expressed interest in participating in discussions if the Coyotes were put up for sale. It’s likely the last remaining avenue that would keep the Coyotes in the region, although for now, it would put them back in the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix that contains thousands of obstructed view seats for hockey.

Snapshots: Byram, Haula, O’Brien

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram will not be in the lineup tonight per Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. The 21-year-old is battling an illness and will sit out the Avalanche contest against the Los Angeles Kings in a showdown between two playoff-bound Western Conference teams. Byram has 23 points in 39 games played this season.

He missed significant time earlier this season with injury, but this absence appears to be short term since it is an illness and not an injury. Byram joins Cale Makar and Josh Manson on the sidelines for the Avalanche who will be a bit shorthanded on the blue line as they try to catch the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division standings.

  • Erik Haula is not in the New Jersey Devils lineup tonight according to Amanda Stein, the lead reporter for the team. Haula has played all 79 games for the Devils before tonight’s contest, but has taken consecutive maintenance days at practice leading up to today. With the playoffs just around the corner, it will be worth keeping an eye on Haula’s status in the coming days to see if he can get back in the lineup before the postseason.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night In Canada reports former first-round draft pick Jay O’Brien is not going to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. O’Brien just played his final college season with Boston University, scoring eight goals and 32 points in 39 games. He was taken 19th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft and the Flyers have until this August to sign him or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent. Friedman said on “32 Thoughts” segment that O’Brien will not be joining the Flyers and will become a free agent later this summer. The Flyers will receive an additional second round draft pick as compensation for not signing a former first round pick.

Snapshots: Penguins, Stauber, Avalanche, Duclair

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If the Penguins are going to be buyers for next month’s trade deadline, there’s at least one key asset that they’re not willing to move.  Speaking with reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, GM Ron Hextall stated that they won’t be willing to move their first-round pick.  At this time, Hextall plans to try to add a piece if he can, stating that “If we can do something to make us better this year, I’m looking to do it”.  However, with limited space to work with (they have just $1.35MM in LTIR space at the moment per CapFriendly), any move they’re looking to make at this point is probably going to be of the depth variety.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Blackhawks announced that they have recalled goaltender Jaxson Stauber from AHL Rockford. The 23-year-old was sent down over the All-Star break but didn’t see any game action with the IceHogs during that stretch.  Stauber won his first two career NHL starts last month, allowing just four goals on 67 shots and has a 3.06 GAA and a .896 SV% in ten minor league contests.
  • There’s some good news on the horizon for the Avalanche when it comes to the injury front. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Valeri Nichushkin will return on Tuesday against Colorado.  Byram has missed the last 38 games due to a lower-body injury but had been logging nearly 21 minutes a night in his first ten appearances where he picked up five points.  Nichushkin, meanwhile, returns from his second ankle injury of the year.  He has been quite productive when he has been in the lineup, collecting 18 points in 20 games.  Meanwhile, it’s also possible that blueliner Josh Manson accompanies the team on the trip; he has been out for more than two months with a lower-body injury.
  • The Panthers are hopeful that winger Anthony Duclair will be able to rejoin the team for practice this week, notes Katie Engelson of Bally Sports Florida (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the entire season so far as he recovered from a torn Achilles.  Last season, Duclair had a career year with 31 goals and 27 assists and Florida could really use him back as they look to get back into the playoff picture.  With Patric Hornqvist (concussion) on LTIR, they’re not currently in a spot where they need to trade someone in order to free up the cap space to activate Duclair when he’s ready to return.

Valeri Nichushkin Undergoes Ankle Surgery

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without some key players for the next little while, according to head coach Jared Bednar. As Peter Baugh of The Athletic tweets from Bednar’s media availability today, Valeri Nichushkin underwent ankle surgery and will be out a month, while Bowen Byram is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Samuel Girard, who is also missing, is listed as day-to-day.

Nichushkin, who was signed to an eight-year, $49MM extension this offseason, has turned into a legitimate star in the league over the last year. After some strong defensive results in his first two seasons with the Avalanche, his offense spiked in 2021-22 to tally 25 goals and 52 points in 62 games. Even more effective in the team’s Stanley Cup championship run, he came back this season further improved.

Through seven games, Nichushkin had seven goals and 12 points, while playing more than 20 minutes a game thanks to his excellent defensive contributions. Bednar could put him on the ice in basically any situation and without Gabriel Landeskog to start the year, he was the third musketeer with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Despite now missing four games, Nichushkin still sits fourth in Colorado scoring, only behind those two and Cale Makar. His seven goals are still tied for the team lead.

Now, the team has to move forward without the big Russian forward, for at least another month’s worth of games. Losing Byram as well who was logging nearly 21 minutes a night is another tough blow.

The 21-year-old defenseman seemed completely recovered from the concussion issues that plagued his early career, and was contributing in all situations for the Avalanche. Not only was Byram part of the three-defenseman powerplay that the team was using but he was even taking shifts on the penalty kill and had a shorthanded goal. Turning into a legitimate force, another stretch out of the lineup due to injury is poor timing for the young defenseman. Not only will he take some time to get back up to speed but this is Byram’s platform year, with restricted free agency scheduled for next summer. Missing games will hurt his negotiation, though he will not be arbitration eligible and thus doesn’t have a ton of leverage anyway.

The Avalanche are back in action Thursday evening against the Nashville Predators, the first of a three-game homestand.

Injury Notes: Zadina, Byram, Hornqvist, Chytil, Dahlin

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After a major offseason overhaul rivaled only by the Ottawa Senators, expectations have been big for the Detroit Red Wings this season, however the team has gotten itself off to an up-and-down start. Sitting at 5-3-2 coming into today, the team would be faced with one of its tougher tasks of the young season this afternoon: a showdown with the New York Islanders, who were on a five-game winning streak. Detroit answered the call, shutting out the Islanders 3-0. That win appears to have come at a price, however. Forward Filip Zadina went down late in the third period after appearing to block a Ryan Pulock shot.

After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, provided an update to the media, including Michigan Live’s Ansar Kahn. According to Lalonde, Zadina’s injury “doesn’t look good” and Detroit may not see the winger for a while, adding that the team would know more tomorrow. Soon to be 23-years-old, Zadina has yet to become the player Detroit hoped he would be when he was drafted sixth-overall in 2018, and has zero points through his first nine games this year, including today. But, with Detroit missing more than its fair share of forwards, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Robby Fabbri, losing Zadina for any period of time will surely be felt.

  • For those who watched today’s NHL Global Series contest in Tampere, Finland between the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, noticeably absent from Colorado’s blueline was Bowen Byram. The defenseman was replaced in the lineup by Jacob MacDonald, who was playing in just his fourth game of the season. Thus far, there is no word on the severity of Byram’s injury, however The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that it’s a lower-body injury. While no injury is good news, for Byram, who has dealt with a number of concussion-related issues in his past, having the injury apparently be unrelated to that is somewhat of a relief. The former fourth-overall pick is off to a strong start to the season, scoring two goals to go with three assists in 10 games to date.
  • Florida Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist, who suffered an upper-body injury early in Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, is considered day-to-day, head coach Paul Maurice told the media, including Bally Sports’ Katie Engleson. The veteran has just one goal through 11 games to start the season, but with Florida missing several key pieces from last year’s team, they will need a quick recovery from Hornqvist and renewed production to help supplement their offense going forward.
  • New York Rangers center Filip Chytil expects to play in the team’s game tomorrow afternoon against the Red Wings. While Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant did not confirm that Chytil would be in the lineup, the forward did tell USA Today Sports’ Vince Mercogliano that he feels 100%. Still, Gallant is hopeful he can play Sunday. Chytil, who hasn’t played since October 23rd, was believed to be dealing with a concussion, said Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 23-year-old had three points in six games prior to the injury.
  • Per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato confirmed that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will miss tonight’s game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning with an upper-body injury. Granato declined to go into specifics on the injury but, Harrington says, it likely occurred during Friday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, when Dahlin was involved in a scuffle with Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Thankfully for Buffalo, Dahlin is listed as day-to-day, but his injury is yet another in a long line of defensemen going down in the Buffalo organization this season, whether that be at the NHL or AHL level. Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed the last four games with injury, draws back in tonight in place of Dahlin.

Central Notes: Byram, Toews, Wild

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Back in January, Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram contemplated not returning this season or even hanging up his skates altogether, relays Mike Chambers of The Denver Post.  He had recently returned to Colorado’s lineup before his concussion symptoms returned and had to shut things down at that time.  The progress that the 20-year-old made in his recovery nudged him towards trying to come back this season which he did last week and he has gotten into six games since then.  Byram’s playing time since then has been a bit limited relative to his early-season usage which is certainly understandable both in terms of allowing him to ease back into things plus Colorado’s top seed in the Western Conference.  He could be an interesting wild card for the Avs heading into the postseason as he certainly has given their third pairing a lift.

More from the Central:

  • Still with Colorado, defenseman Devon Toews won’t suit up tonight and won’t accompany the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, notes Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link). The good news for the Avalanche is that head coach Jared Bednar indicated that the injury isn’t cause for concern which means he should be good to go for the playoffs, if not a game or two before then.  The 28-year-old is logging more than 25 minutes a game on the back end this season, second to only Cale Makar for Colorado.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic outlines (subscription link) the tough decision the Wild are facing this summer.  Their cap situation gets a lot worse with the increased dead cap charges on the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts and it appears they’ll be facing a situation where either winger Kevin Fiala or defenseman Mathew Dumba get traded.  Minnesota wasn’t able to agree to a long-term deal with Fiala last summer and wound up taking him to salary arbitration.  He has one year of RFA eligibility remaining and with 73 points in 75 games, he’ll be eyeing a big raise on his $5.1MM price tag while making it very difficult to justify moving him.  Dumba is signed through next season at $6MM and would certainly have a strong trade market if they opted to move him to keep Fiala in the fold.

Bowen Byram Sent To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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In what must come as great news for Colorado Avalanche fans, 2019 4th overall pick Bowen Byram looks set to return to the ice. The Avalanche have announced that they are sending Byram to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles for a conditioning stint. This is Byram’s third attempt this season to get past the concussion issues that have thus far plagued his professional career, and given Byram’s health struggles since he was drafted, it seems like this is a positive development not only for Byram and the Avalanche but also for hockey as a whole.

Byram, 20, is an incredibly talented defenseman who previously starred for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. In his draft year, Byram posted 26 goals and 71 points in 67 games, and he was selected by the Avalanche who were undoubtedly salivating at the thought of adding another young blue-chip defender to a long-term blueline corps that already boasted Cale Makar and Samuel Girard.

But despite those great hopes, Byram’s professional career has been rocky, to put it mildly. Since he finished his junior career having played 188 WHL games Byram has played in a total of 37 contests over two seasons with the Avalanche, a number that illustrates the significant health issues Byram has had as a professional. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh went into detail in a story covering Byram’s first year in Colorado, (subscription required) and in it, Byram reveals that he battled a growing worry that “his career was slipping away” and that he would not be able to continue playing hockey. But Byram overcame those challenges and a bout with COVID-19 to get into the lineup for the Avalanche this season. He has been very impressive in his brief time with the big club, posting 11 points in 18 games, but his ability to succeed kept getting undercut by injury woes. There was a head injury in early November that began to derail his campaign, and he was continually in the process of recovering from injuries only to face new issues. In January, Byram left the team for “personal reasons,” reasons clarified via Baugh to be Byram’s need to deal with the “lingering issues” that stemmed from his original concussions.

Since that point, Byram has been working towards an eventual return where he could finally, hopefully, put those issues behind him and truly begin in earnest an NHL career that holds so much promise. That work to get back reached a new checkpoint tonight, as Byram’s loan means that he is ready to resume playing professional hockey. The Avalanche have a strong defense corps, but also one that is not without its injury issues. Girard has been out for an extended period, and Ryan Murray recently was forced out of the lineup with a wrist injury. Getting Byram back (and even potentially acquainting him on a partnership with new acquisition Josh Manson) would be a significant boon for Colorado as they gear up for what the team expects to be a long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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