Colorado’s recent skid has put a spotlight on a familiar problem: the bottom half of the lineup hasn’t done enough. That lack of depth scoring has helped drive the inconsistency that has marked the Avalanche’s season so far, and it has also made the quiet start from rookie forward T.J. Hughes stand out.
The 24-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario arrived with plenty of offensive credibility. Hughes was a 2025 Hobey Baker finalist at the University of Michigan, where he put together a senior season that included 57 points and 22 goals. He also helped lead the Wolverines to a Frozen Four appearance, a run that only added to the buzz around his game.
After college, Hughes signed a free-agent deal with Colorado and was pushed into pro hockey immediately. His first stop was with the Colorado Eagles in the American Hockey League, and he handled that transition well. In the playoffs, he posted 14 points in 17 games as the Eagles reached the franchise’s first Western Conference Final.
This season, Hughes earned a spot on the Avalanche roster out of camp, but the results have been uneven. He has six points in 15 games, though two of those goals came in back-to-back games in mid-October, a reminder that the finishing touch is there. The issue has been consistency.
Even with that modest stat line, there are calls for him to be sent back to the AHL. That reaction misses a lot of what Hughes brings.
His pace is a major part of his game, along with a work rate that shows up in the hard areas of the ice. He goes to the net front, battles along the boards, and does the kind of dirty work that doesn’t always show up in the box score.
His usage has shifted as well. Hughes opened the year on the second line before settling in on the third line with Jaden Schwartz and Nazem Kadri.
In that role, he has often been the first forward in on the forecheck and has done plenty of the heavy lifting in that area. His best offensive work has come below the dots, where he has 11 shots on goal from the low slot.
That’s where his game looks most dangerous, in the messy space around the crease and along the walls.
Colorado has also given him a look on the top power-play unit alongside Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar. Hughes has lined up on the left flank as a shooting option and has also worked down low below the goal line. The power play has only produced one assist for him so far, but his vision and playmaking are still part of the package.
This isn’t a matter of Hughes being buried on the bench, either. He is averaging nearly 15 minutes a night on the third line.
The challenge has been adjusting to the speed of the NHL game, which has looked a little too fast for him at times. Still, as he gets more games under his belt and becomes more comfortable with the pace and structure at this level, his season could look very different before long.
In Other News...
Avalanche Were Dominated In Columbus For One Frustrating Reason
Columbus did not just beat Colorado, it overwhelmed the Avalanche with a season-high seven goals in a home game that snapped the Blue Jackets out of a recent scoring slump. The matchup turned quickly into one of those nights where one team seemed to have every answer, and for Colorado, the frustration was compounded by how effectively Columbus handled the top of the lineup battle.
A big part of that came from the Blue Jackets third line of Charlie Coyle, Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier, which was able to match up against Colorados top line and keep the pressure on throughout the game. Ivan Provorovs return has also given Columbus defense a noticeable boost, and the combination of sturdier play in back and better line matching made the Avalanches trip to Columbus a rough one from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Former Avalanche Forward Is Making Colorado Fans Notice His New Start
Ross Colton is already giving Colorado fans a reason to keep one eye on Nashville. In his latest outing with the Predators, the former Avalanche forward scored a goal and added an assist in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, a performance that fit neatly alongside a strong night from the rest of Nashvilles core.
Roman Josi chipped in with a goal, and Juuse Saros handled the rest with 29 saves as the Predators snapped Carolinas momentum. The result also ended Pyotr Kochetkovs 10-game winning streak to open the season, a rare start that had already put him in the NHL record conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Keep Showing A Road Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Avalanche have done enough at home to stay in the mix at 9-6-1, but the road has become a much harder sell. A 7-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets only sharpened the concern, because it was not an isolated off night so much as another example of Colorado getting pushed around away from Denver. For a team built to contend in the Central Division, the gap between what it looks like at home and what it has shown on the road is starting to stand out.
Colorado is also dealing with a broader pattern that goes beyond one bad trip. The defense has had trouble handling several low-scoring opponents, and the power play has not been doing enough to cover for those lapses. Sitting fourth in the division behind the Stars, Wild and Utah Mammoth, the Avalanche still have time to settle things down, but until the road game tightens up, the standings will keep reflecting the same uneasy trend. [Read more 🡒]