Evening Notes: O’Connor, Laine, McCarron
Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar told reporters earlier today, including Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports, that Logan O’Connor has resumed skating and is progressing. Bednar also emphasized that the upcoming Olympic break will benefit the forward as he works toward a debut this season.
The 29-year-old has been out long term after undergoing hip surgery in June, the second such procedure since 2024. Signed to an extension through the 2030-31 season, when healthy, the Avalanche are banking on the undrafted O’Connor to be a relentless bottom six forward with strong defensive capabilities and penalty killing. He is firmly a 20-30 point contributor at this point, but not needed for more on the high flying team.
Even without him, the Avalanche rank comfortably in first place, and O’Connor will be a classic case of “Trade Deadline at Home”, rejoining the team just in time for a run this spring.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is not expected to return tomorrow against his former club at Winnipeg, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet. The sniper will have to look past the Olympic break to make a return, after undergoing surgery in October, and not playing since. In just five games prior to going down, Laine recorded just one helper, as he continues to have highs and lows. The 27-year-old will be in a fascinating spot once healthy, as Montreal is holding firm playoff position without him and may not be so keen to shake up their lineup. On the flip side, the former 40-goal-scorer is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be anxious to showcase his worth for a new opportunity, likely elsewhere.
- Nashville Predators pending free agent Michael McCarron has interest from “a lot” of teams, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, shared on yesterday’s episode of the Real Kyper & Bourne podcast. The 30-year-old was listed as a possible trade candidate last week, and now a market is taking shape which may prove enough to sway Nashville to part with their respected grinder. A face-off specialist standing at 6’6″ with serious physicality and just a $900k cap hit, the former first-round pick of Montreal isn’t necessarily a “must” trade, given his improvement as a Predator, but GM Barry Trotz, who made headlines with his sudden resignation announcement yesterday, would be wise to capitalize on a seller’s market where a second or third round pick isn’t entirely out of possibility.
Central Notes: Bedard, Vanacker, O’Connor, Kiviranta
Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was injured in a last-second faceoff in last night’s game against St. Louis. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that the 20-year-old has already been ruled out for today’s game against Detroit with there not yet being enough information to make any determinations beyond that. More information is expected on Monday before the team embarks on a three-game road trip. Bedard, the number one pick in 2023, is in the middle of a breakout season as he has 19 goals and 25 assists in just 31 games, a level of play that has him as a speculative candidate to play for Canada at the upcoming Olympics, assuming that this injury isn’t a long-term one.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Still with Chicago, Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link) that Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker has been added to its training camp roster for the upcoming World Juniors. The 19-year-old was the 27th pick in the 2024 draft and is in the middle of a dominant season with OHL Brantford. Through 26 games with the Bulldogs, Vanacker has 26 goals and 15 assists. Considering the fact he wasn’t on the original invite list, he has some work to do to try to secure a spot on the final roster.
- 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.
Central Injury Notes: Brindley, O’Connor, Hellebuyck, McCarron
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.
Meanwhile, Bednar was more neutral when speaking on O’Connor. The seven-year veteran hasn’t played since Colorado’s Game Seven loss to the Dallas Stars last postseason due to a hip injury, and the team is still waiting for a clearer picture of his return.
Other injury updates from the Central Division:
- According to Mitchell Clinton of the Winnipeg Jets, the team is expected to have netminder Connor Hellebuyck resume skating relatively soon. Although he won’t be returning early, it’s a positive update that Hellebuyck is staying on his original recovery timeline at the very least and has not suffered a setback. In the report, head coach Scott Arniel jokingly said, “I’m going to make sure he has four yellow (non-contact) jerseys on.” Winnipeg is 2-5-0 without Hellebuyck, allowing 25 goals against on 204 shots (.877 SV%).
- It doesn’t appear that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron will miss any more time with a lower-body injury. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reports that McCarron fully participated in practice today after missing the team’s most recent contest against the Calgary Flames. The bottom-six center has scored one goal and five points in 25 games for the Predators this season, with a 53.8% success rate in the faceoff dot.
Evening Notes: Neighbours, Kemell, O’Connor
The St. Louis Blues will get leading goal-scorer Jake Neighbours back on their current five-game road trip, per head coach Jim Montgomery. Neighbours has been out with a right-leg injury since St. Louis’ October 25th win over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored two goals in that game, bringing his year-long totals up to six goals in eight games. That mark was double any other Blues’ goal total at the time, and is still tied for the team lead despite him missing the last 11 games. He has seven points in total.
The Blues will be anxiously anticipating the return of their hot hand. They have posted a 3-4-1 record since Neighbours’ exited the lineup – the fifth-lowest point-percentage in the NHL in that span. It’s been a brutal stretch, marked by St. Louis averaging over four goals against per game. Neighbours’ confident offense, and chemistry with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, should help spur the Blues’ offense; while his physicality supports the defense. The 23-year-old could return as soon as Thursday’s game versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Nashville Predators have reassigned winger Joakim Kemell to the minor-leagues. Kemell was recalled on November 10th, but didn’t appear in any NHL games over the last week. His only NHL action this year came in two games at the start of Nashville’s season. He managed no scoring, one shot on goal, and four hits in the pair of outings. Kemell has managed six points in six AHL games this season, making him one of three Milwaukee Admirals scoring at a point-per-game. He’ll now bring that productivity back to an Admirals team that’s 5-1-0 through November.
- The Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a bit longer to get depth forward Logan O’Connor back into the lineup. He has sustained an soft-tissue issue that will delay his return from a hip surgery he underwent in March per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. This new injury is unrelated to the surgery, per Rawal, but has still pushed back O’Connor’s original return date of early November. The 29-year-old right-winger appeared in 80 games, and scored 21 points, with the Avalanche last season. He’s become a fixture of the team’s fourth-line, and has managed at least 20 points in each of the last four seasons.
Evening Notes: Gillies, O’Connor, Nardella
A former third-string option at the NHL level enjoyed his time in the ECHL so much last season that he wants another go at it. According to a team announcement, the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears have signed netminder Jon Gillies for the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite being in the professional ranks for the last decade, Gillies is best known for his work at the collegiate level. Putting together an impressive season with the NCAA’s Providence College, Gillies managed a 24-13-2 record in 39 games with a .930 SV%, 2.01 GAA, and four shutouts during the 2014-15 season. Gillies played so well behind the Friars that they were able to win the first National Championship in program history.
He put together a few good years with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, but couldn’t replicate the success he had in college. From 2015 to 2023, Gillies managed a 78-71-32 record in 184 appearances with a .904 SV% and 2.94 GAA with the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations. He played in seven games for the Solar Bears last season.
Other notes from this evening:
- The Colorado Avalanche are getting some good news from one of their better bottom-six players. According to AJ Haefele of the DNVR Avalanche podcast, Logan O’Connor‘s recovery from surgery is going ahead of schedule. He posits that O’Connor should only miss between 10 and 16 games, which would forecast his return to early November, nearly a month earlier than expected.
- The AHL’s Manitoba Moose are adding some veteran experience to their coaching staff for the upcoming season. Earlier today, the team announced that they’ve hired Bob Nardella as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 AHL season. Nardella has spent more than a decade with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, moving from the team’s skills coach to the assistant coach before serving as the head coach last year.
Players Who Could Start The Season On LTIR
While only a handful of teams project to need cap relief via long-term injured reserve to open the season, multiple candidates across the league might technically qualify for a placement. Doing so would bar the player from returning until Oct. 31 at the earliest – 24 days from the season start date of Oct. 7.
Avalanche: Logan O’Connor
O’Connor underwent hip surgery in early June. Given the five-to-six-month projected recovery window, he won’t be available until early November at best, putting him past the 10-game/24-day threshold required for LTIR. Colorado, which has $2.10MM in current cap space, will likely place O’Connor on standard IR if they don’t make any other cap-affecting moves between now and October. If they need the relief, though, they could create up to O’Connor’s $2.5MM cap hit in cushion for the first few weeks of the season if they need it.
Blues: Torey Krug
St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong announced in May that Krug’s career is done because of pre-arthritic conditions in his left ankle that surgical intervention only slowly corrected. Since the Blues only have around $625K in cap space, Krug and his $6.5MM cap hit will be going on LTIR as soon as they need the flexibility for a call-up.
Canadiens: Carey Price
What’s certain is that Price won’t play this season or ever again. He’s entering the final season of his contract at a $10.5MM cap hit after confirming nearly two years ago that his knee injury would prohibit him from suiting up again. What’s uncertain is whether or not he’ll begin the season on LTIR. Montreal isn’t in a great position to optimize its LTIR relief, either by matching his cap hit in excess or getting down to $0 in space before placing him on the list. That’s made his contract a trade chip for teams who might need the relief more.
Devils: Johnathan Kovacevic
Kovacevic underwent knee surgery in early May and won’t be ready for training camp and likely opening night as well. Whether that stretches past Oct. 31 and makes him eligible for an LTIR placement if New Jersey needs cap relief early on remains to be seen.
Flyers: Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen
Ellis’ career is over after sustaining a wide-ranging muscular injury in his pelvis just four games into his Flyers tenure in 2021. Ristolainen underwent a procedure on his right triceps tendon on March 26 with a six-month recovery time, putting him right on the edge of potential LTIR eligibility. Philly will have a better idea of the latter’s LTIR deployment potential after he undergoes his training camp physical. With $370K in cap space, they’re in a good position for near-max LTIR capture and will almost certainly at least place Ellis there to begin the year to give them call-up flexibility.
Golden Knights: Alex Pietrangelo
Pietrangelo is already on offseason LTIR, meaning the Knights actually still have to add an additional $1.2MM to their roster before opening night to optimize his capture and unlock his full $8.8MM cap hit’s worth of relief for this season. The team confirmed he requires multiple undisclosed but significant surgeries that will likely mark the end of his playing career, but it’s unclear if he’s actually had them done yet.
Jets: Adam Lowry
Lowry underwent hip surgery in late May and won’t be available until after Thanksgiving at the earliest. Winnipeg likely won’t be formalizing an LTIR placement with nearly $4MM in cap space, though.
Mammoth: Juuso Välimäki
Välimäki underwent ACL surgery in early March. He likely won’t end up on LTIR given Utah’s current cap flexibility ($6.68MM), but he’ll be out until at least early November so he’ll be there as an early-season option in case they need relief for whatever reason.
Oilers: Zach Hyman
Hyman’s inclusion here is on the speculative side. The winger could very well be ready for the start of the season. However, there hasn’t been much clarity on how much recovery he still needs after undergoing surgery to repair a severe wrist injury that kept him out of the Stanley Cup Final. A report in early June indicated there was uncertainty about his status for training camp, with no meaningful updates since then.
Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk
Tkachuk told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski earlier this month that he’s still deciding whether he wants to undergo surgery to address the adductor issue that hampered him down the stretch and in the playoffs after sustaining it at the 4 Nations Face-Off. All signs point to him opting for it and spending the next two to three months on the shelf as a result, though. Placing him on LTIR is the only way the Panthers, who currently have a cap exceedance of $3.725MM, can be compliant to start the season without shedding a significant contract, something they aren’t keen to do.
Wild: Jonas Brodin
Minnesota has $9.41MM in cap space, but that number will shrink once they re-sign restricted free agent Marco Rossi (or add salary while trading his signing rights). Neither scenario will likely push them into a situation where they need to use LTIR relief, but they might have Brodin and his $6MM cap hit as an option for some short-term flexibility if required. He underwent an upper-body procedure in early June and is questionable for the beginning of the season, so it’s not yet clear if he’ll miss enough time to qualify.
Avalanche’s Logan O’Connor Out 5-6 Months Following Hip Surgery
Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor underwent successful hip surgery Friday morning in New York City, the team announced. He’s expected to miss five to six months recovering, meaning he’ll miss training camp and at least the first month of the 2025-26 season.
This is O’Connor’s second hip surgery in 16 months. He had surgery in March 2024 to correct a hip problem that had caused him to miss short stints of action earlier in the season, ending his season.
That procedure didn’t discourage Colorado’s hopes that O’Connor would be a long-term bottom-six piece for the club. They signed him to a six-year, $15MM extension with a modified no-trade clause last September, days after he stepped back on the ice for training camp.
While O’Connor remained a strong defensive presence on the right side of the ice in 2024-25, earning Selke Trophy votes for the first time in his career, his offensive impact took a hit following the first surgery. He posted 10 goals and 21 points in 80 games for 0.26 points per game, his worst output since the 2020-21 campaign.
There’s optimism that could be a fluky dropoff. For one, the hip surgery didn’t affect O’Connor’s calling card – his speed. He recorded a top skating speed of 23.25 mph this past season, according to NHL EDGE, 0.14 mph more than last season’s peak. He did record fewer speed bursts over 20 mph per game in 2024-25 than he did in 2023-24, but was still in the 91st percentile league-wide for the stat among forwards.
Still, two procedures in such a short time frame are concerning for O’Connor’s availability moving forward. That aforementioned extension kicks in for the upcoming season and runs through the 2030-31 campaign. His $2.5MM cap hit is a reasonable chunk of change for a minute-munching defensive specialist, though, so even if he never rebounds toward producing at a 30-40 point pace, the Avs will still get fine value out of O’Connor’s contract as long as he continues to provide high value from his possession impacts and checking game.
Until O’Connor returns to the lineup sometime around Thanksgiving, he’ll miss enough time for the Avalanche to create some early salary cap flexibility by placing him on long-term injured reserve. They’ll still need to be able to create enough space to activate him when he’s ready to return, though. In training camp, his absence will mean more leeway for names like Ivan Ivan, Oskar Olausson, and Nikita Prishchepov to fight for an opening-night job.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.
Avalanche Sign Logan O’Connor To Six-Year Extension
The Colorado Avalanche have gotten to work early on one of their key secondary scorers by announcing a six-year contract extension for forward Logan O’Connor. O’Connor was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer with his three-year, $3.15MM contract expiring. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports O’Connor will earn $2.5MM each year of the deal.
Although he was raised in Calgary after his father, Myles O’Connor, retired from professional hockey in 1998, O’Connor has spent much of his adult life in Denver, CO. He spent three years just south of Ball Arena at the University of Denver from 2015-18 collecting 16 goals and 43 points in 108 games while helping his team to a National Championship in 2017. He signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche after his junior season in 2018 and made his NHL debut with the club the following season.
O’Connor performed admirably in his first two years with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles but struggled to find his footing in the NHL. He registered only two goals in 21 games in his first two years with Colorado before injuries limited him to only three goals and five points in 22 games during the 2020-21 regular season.
He finally came into his current role during the 2021-22 NHL season scoring eight goals and 24 points in 81 games while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time per game. He became a physical player and an effective penalty killer becoming an all-out annoying presence for the opposition. He helped the Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001 that spring scoring one goal in game three of Colorado’s semi-final matchup against the St. Louis Blues while registering three more assists throughout the postseason.
O’Connor played similarly for the Avalanche the following season scoring nine goals and 26 points in 82 contests but failed to register any points in Colorado’s seven-game loss to the Seattle Kraken in the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. 
The 2023-24 season was a breakout season for O’Connor before a hip injury ended his year early. He scored 13 goals and 25 points in 57 games including three goals on the penalty kill which was good for a share of fifth amongst the NHL by season’s end. His shooting percentage more than doubled to 15.3% and Colorado’s third line was noticeably weaker after O’Connor went down with injury.
O’Connor is once again expected to be a major bottom-six piece for the Avalanche as they look to regain their footing in a tough Western Conference. The team hasn’t advanced beyond Round Two of the playoffs since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 largely because of their lack of depth. His $2.5MM salary should be more than digestible for a cash-strapped team such as the Avalanche as they hope O’Connor will be a focal point of their third line for years to come.
Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports shared a quote from Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland surmising O’Connor’s importance to the team by saying, “He is a relentless worker and competitor who brings energy and grit to the lineup every night. His speed and skating ability makes him a dangerous two-way player and he is one of our top penalty killers. Logan is also a great teammate and takes pride in being a part of the Denver community“.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports images.
Evening Notes: O’Connor, Schaefer, Stamkos
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor will be ready for training camp this Thursday. The 28-year-old has been skating regularly for about a month and has ramped up his preparations in the last few weeks. O’Connor had season-ending hip surgery and missed the playoffs last season after setting a career-high in goals with 13 of them in 57 games.
The Missouri City, Texas native continued to be one of the fastest wingers in the NHL last year and put up strong penalty-kill numbers while finding chemistry with linemates Ross Colton and Miles Wood. Despite his strong results last season, O’Connor is likely due for some regression as he shot over 15% last year which was an increase of almost seven percent from his previous season.
In other evening notes:
- Corey Pronman of The Athletic reports that 2025 NHL Draft prospect Matthew Schaefer has contracted mono and will miss some time to start the season. Schaefer was taken first overall in the 2023 OHL draft and spent last season with the Erie Otters where he posted three goals and 14 assists in 56 games. The 17-year-old is projected to be the first defenseman taken in next year’s draft and will likely be taken in the top 10. Schaefer’s offensive numbers didn’t jump off the page in his rookie OHL season, however, he only turned 17 earlier this month and will see increased minutes and responsibility this season, when he returns to health.
- Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette is most excited to see Steven Stamkos’ leadership at work when the veteran begins his first training camp with his new team (as per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean). Stamkos joined Nashville via free agency and brings a large skillset to the team, but it is his reputation and leadership that has Brunette excited. Brunette told reporters that he will have Stamkos play with a pile of players early on to see how things go and to try and find the right mix. However, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him paired up with youngsters Thomas Novak or Luke Evangelista, given that Brunette sees leadership as Stamkos’s biggest asset.
West Notes: Zadorov, O’Connor, Jets
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov is one of several notable pending unrestricted free agents in Vancouver. It appears that they’re going to make one last push to try to sign him as CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (Twitter link) the Canucks are preparing to tender the blueliner a final offer soon. Vancouver acquired the 29-year-old back in November and while he didn’t light it up following the move (14 points in 54 games), Zadorov had a big showing in the playoffs that has certainly bolstered his value. He picked up four goals and four assists in 13 games while averaging nearly four and a half hits per game in just over 20 minutes a night. Dhaliwal adds that some think he could get six years at $6MM per season if he gets to the open market. It would be surprising to see the Canucks go that high with who else needs to be signed but they’ll make one last attempt to try to bridge the gap.
More from the West:
- While Mikko Rantanen is the most prominent member of the Avalanche who is eligible for a contract extension this summer, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now examines the other forward of note who can sign a new deal in July, winger Logan O’Connor. The 27-year-old was in the midst of a career year with 13 goals and 12 assists in 57 games before undergoing hip surgery just before the trade deadline. Considering he is also a quality penalty killer, Rawal posits that O’Connor could push past the $4MM mark on the open market in 2025. That would certainly be a substantial improvement on the $1.05MM cap charge he’s set to carry in the third and final year of his contract next season.
- Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that Eric Comrie could be a good fit for Winnipeg’s backup goalie vacancy. He had some success with them before departing for Buffalo two years ago while goaltending coach Wade Flaherty, who worked with him previously, is still on the staff. Perhaps more notably, a deal for Comrie should check in at or close to the $775K minimum salary, giving them more room to work with as they look to retain or replace some of their pending free agents. Laurent Brossoit had a strong showing as Connor Hellebuyck’s backup in 2023-24 but is expected to be too expensive for the Jets to retain this summer.