The wait for the real version of the Colorado Avalanche might be coming to an end.
Colorado’s six best forwards were all on the ice together Monday for the first time since May. Arturri Lehkonen will make his season debut Tuesday night against Seattle after offseason shoulder surgery.
Not only did Valeri Nichushkin participate in a team practice for the first time since being suspended for at least six months and placed in Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA Player Assistance program, but the Avs believe they know his return date as well: Nov. 15 against Washington.
Toss in Jonathan Drouin, who continues to practice with a red noncontact jersey, and the Avs may not be the most shorthanded team in the league for much longer.
“Well, we’re getting close, right?” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We don’t know exactly when the other guys are going to get back in, but every player that we add just helps another line and probably boosts someone down the line up to where they’re playing against the right level of competition.”
The Avs still have three other forwards on the mend as well. Miles Wood could be back in the next week from an upper-body injury. Ross Colton could return in mid-to-late December from a broken foot. When captain Gabe Landeskog might return remains a mystery.
But Lehkonen, Nichushkin and Drouin were critical to the club’s success at both ends of the ice last season and will instantly upgrade several aspects of Colorado’s current roster.
The Avs are still eighth in the NHL in expected goals for percentage at 5-on-5 despite those three combining for one game so far this season. One reason Colorado is 25th in actual goals for percentage is the goaltending struggles, but the Avs are also not converting their scoring chances at the same rate.
While the power play has been great for much of the season, adding those three players could make it even better and more varied. Nichushkin was one of the top two net-front presences in the NHL last season, along with Edmonton’s Zach Hyman.
That makes Cale Makar’s shooting ability from the top of the zone more effective. Drouin is also great at creating space for Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to pass the puck from one side of the ice to the other, which creates different ways to attack.
Lehkonen could provide an immediate boost in all three phases of the game, but he (and Nichushkin) might be missed most on the penalty kill. The Avs are currently 20th on the PK, including a pair of goals against Saturday night in Nashville.
“I think he’s just so versatile (as a) player,” Rantanen said of Lehkonen. “Like he can play penalty kill and he can play power play. He can do it all. So just a versatile, really solid player. Doesn’t make mistakes out there. So good to have him back.”
Nichushkin has been skating and working out on his own in Denver away from the team for the past couple of weeks. He still has to go through the final reinstatement process and be cleared to play by the NHL and NHLPA, but Bednar believes Nichushkin will be good to play on Nov. 15.
Multiple key leaders on the team reiterated a line from last season — the Avs will welcome Nichushkin back with open arms, again — at media day in September. General manager Chris MacFarland said in early October that what his players “want to know is that Val is healthy and that he understands the hurt that they went through, especially at playoff time” after his availability issues in each of the past two postseasons.
From left to right, Colorado’s Josh Manson, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, and Mikko Rantanen celebrate with MacKinnon after he scored against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in the third period during game one of the second round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, May 07, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
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Now, the reality of Nichushkin’s return is almost here.
“We need him, obviously,” Rantanen said. “I don’t want to go into the past, what has happened before. We need him in the lineup. He’s a big part of the team.”
The update on Landeskog wasn’t as promising. Bednar said the team’s captain has taken some time away from the ice recently but feels better in the gym and is “still going through his process.” The Avs had previously said it would be a “12-16 month” recovery for Landeskog from a May 2023 surgery, but it will be 18 months next week and he hasn’t been on the ice with the team since the 2024 playoffs in May.
Given the other injury and availability issues, Landeskog’s delayed return has been put on a back burner. The Avs need healthy and effective versions of Lehkonen, Nichushkin and Drouin to help ignite a season that’s felt like an extended waiting game, even if MacFarland said he didn’t want the club to wait for cavalry.
“It’s going to help our team and then we just need to play together and not change the mindset,” Rantanen said. “I think it’s been some offensive struggles, maybe execution-wise … that’s going to come with this team. We’ve seen it in the past.”
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