Logan O’Connor probably should’ve been back in the lineup by now. Just a few weeks ago, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar had thought both Samuel Girard and O’Connor would return around the same time.
Girard has since played two games. O’Connor on the other hand, is not partaking in full team practices.
“He’s had a couple things pop up, like, not hip related,” Bednar told reporters earlier this week.
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O’Connor is one of three veteran forwards on the sideline. The more recently hurt, Valeri Nichushkin, is not back on the ice with the team yet. He skated in a non-contact sweater before the team.
But Joel Kiviranta, who was injured in October, participated in Wednesday’s practice in a non-contact sweater.
Bednar said last week that Kiviranta’s original timeline was 6-8 weeks when he suffered a lower-body injury on Oct. 16.
For O’Connor, his hip surgery on June 6 initially required a 5-6 month recovery. But that felt like it was going to be a worst case scenario when he was already on the ice as training camp began two months ago.
“As he’s gotten a bigger workload, different things have sort of bothered him a little bit. Was making really good progess and looked like he’d probably beat [the projected] return date,” Bednar said. “But things have kind of slowed down for him a little bit as he’s working through other issues in his return to play.
“It’s not his hip at all. That feels really good. He’s just got some other soft tissue issues he’s been working through that kind of has slowed his on-ice progression a little bit. Nothing too serious that we worry about but we’re just trying to get him back to as close to full strength as we can before getting him into games.”
The Avalanche have fared just well without him. They lead the NHL with 31 points (13-1-5) and are currently riding a six-game winning streak.
The emergency of rookie Gavin Brindley and the strong two-way play of a newcomer in Victor Olofsson have made it easier to allow O’Connor the time he needs. But make no mistake, the veteran winger will be back in the lineup as soon as he’s physically able.
O’Connor is in the first of a six-year, $15 million contract he signed last season.
