The Avalanche should get a familiar boost back in the lineup Friday night.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Monday that forward Logan O’Connor is expected to make his season debut when the Avalanche host the Tampa Bay Lightning. O’Connor has been on injured reserve, which means he has to wait until Friday to return.
His path back has been anything but straightforward. O’Connor missed Colorado’s final two preseason games with a lower-body injury and was ruled out for the team’s season opener last month.
Then, just as he was trending toward returning more than a week ago, he stepped away from the team to be with his family after the passing of his father, which was announced on Oct. 8.
Now the 30-year-old is aiming for a healthier run the rest of the way in the 2026-27 season. Last year was delayed from the start, too, with offseason hip surgery keeping him out until March. He managed only two assists in 13 regular-season games, but still chipped in a goal and an assist during Colorado’s march to the Western Conference Final, where the Presidents’ Trophy winners were eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights.
This will be O’Connor’s ninth season with the Avalanche. The Missouri City, Texas native has long been a dependable depth presence in Denver, while also flashing more offense at times - including four straight 20-point seasons before the 2025-26 campaign.
O’Connor is in the second season of the six-year extension he signed in September 2024. The contract carries an AAV of $2.5 million and includes a modified no-trade clause with a six-team no-trade list submitted by the player.
Colorado, now 5-2-1, is back in action Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
In Other News...
Former Lightning Players Are Creating A Debate Tampa Bay Fans Will Feel
A familiar crop of former Lightning faces is spreading across the league, and their new roles are giving Tampa Bay fans plenty to track. Some left in free agency, others via trade, and a few have already settled into meaningful jobs with their new clubs, where their usage and production are being watched closely as the season moves along. For a team that has built so much of its identity on depth and roster churn, seeing ex-Lightning players pop up in bigger assignments elsewhere is hardly new, but it does keep the old questions alive about who was ready to leave, who was moved at the right time, and who might still have fit into the picture.
The most interesting part is how varied those paths have become. One former Lightning defenseman has carved out top-pair minutes in Pittsburgh alongside Erik Karlsson, while another ex-Tampa forward has slid into a second-line center role in Toronto because of an injury there. Add in the contracts, ice time, and point totals attached to the rest of the group, and it becomes a pretty useful snapshot of how much roster movement can shape the debate long after a player has moved on. [Read more 🡒]