Avalanche forward Ross Colton is “going to miss some time” after blocking a shot with his foot in yesterday’s loss to the Blackhawks, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters postgame, including Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. He was mobile after the game but left Ball Arena in a walking boot.
It’s another tough break for a Colorado forward corps without Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin for the entire season and Jonathan Drouin for every game except for the season opener. The latter is getting close to returning, with Rawal reporting over the weekend that Drouin has been upgraded to day-to-day with his upper-body injury. But for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, missing its top four wingers simultaneously, especially for the better part of a month, rightfully feels like an unending and insurmountable challenge.
Colton, 28, had stepped up to fill those voids as best he could. Expected to be their No. 3 center behind Nathan MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt, Colton has shifted to first-line left-wing duties alongside MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. He’s responded with a team-leading eight goals and a league-leading four power-play goals, averaging 18:38 per game while maintaining his physical standard of play. He leads the team with 28 hits and leads Avs forwards with nine blocks, a tendency that’s unfortunately led to what looks to be a multi-week absence.
While Drouin is nearing a return, there’s no indication of whether he’s an option for tomorrow’s game against the Lightning. If he can, it’ll be a one-for-one swap in the lineup, with Drouin replacing Colton on the top line. The Avalanche also have a full 23-man roster, meaning Colton must take Drouin’s spot on injured reserve. If Drouin can’t return, the Avalanche will likely dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. They have eight defensemen and three goaltenders on the active roster, so they aren’t carrying an extra forward.
Colton scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for Tampa Bay as a rookie in 2021 and had a career-high 40 points in 80 games for the Avs in 2023-24. It was his first season in Colorado after they picked up his signing rights from the Bolts for a 2023 second-round pick. After weeks of negotiations, the restricted free agent inked a four-year, $16MM pact to stick around in Denver. He’s in the second season of that deal and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
