Avalanche Practice: Hughes Locks Up a Spot; O’Connor, L’Heureux Injured

September 28, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Jared Bednar said last week that he intended to have the Colorado Avalanche’s roster fully finalized for Sunday’s practice after the second set of back-to-back preseason games.

The Avs got one step closer to that goal Sunday morning, cutting 12 players from the roster, with six placed on waivers. But things aren’t quite finalized yet.

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They’re close. Just not over the finish line.

And there are a few reasons why.

Also Read:Avalanche Make 12 Cuts, Reduce Roster to 25 Players

Injuries have played a part.

For starters, goalie Trent Miner remains on the NHL roster because he’s injured. The 25-year-old has not participated in a full on-ice skate with the team since training camp began and, of course, isn’t expected to remain with the big club once he’s healthy.

The Avs are also dealing with several minor injuries among their skaters.

Taylor Makar remains on the roster after leaving Saturday’s preseason finale with an injury. Bednar said Makar is doing fine and isn’t far from a return. Georgii Merkulov is also still with the team for the same reason.

From the NHL group, Bednar confirmed Sunday that Logan O’Connor and Zachary L’Heureux are both day-to-day with minor injuries sustained during training camp. Neither played in the second set of preseason games, and Bednar said he’ll know more about their availability for opening night Sunday.

Then there’s T.J. Hughes.

Also Read:Breaking: T.J. Hughes Makes Avalanche’s Opening Night Roster

Perhaps the biggest story of training camp, Hughes has impressed the coaching staff throughout the past two weeks and officially earned his spot in the opening-night lineup, Bednar confirmed Sunday.

The 24-year-old rookie won’t just be in the lineup, either. He’ll start the season on the top power-play unit alongside Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and Gabe Landeskog.

Hughes is waiver-exempt, but his play has forced the Avalanche to rethink some of the plans they had coming into camp.

General manager Joe Sakic previously said he’d like to carry 21 skaters to accrue cap space throughout the season. That would mean 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies — essentially keeping every player on a one-way contract while leaving the rest of the roster flexible.

That group includes newcomers Jaden Schwartz, Fedor Svechkov, Noah Juulsen and L’Heureux.

But Hughes’ emergence changes the equation.

Rather than sending a waiver-exempt player down, the Avs appear prepared to carry 22 skaters to start the season, allowing them to keep L’Heureux without exposing him to waivers. Bednar confirmed that was the direction the team was leaning Sunday.

The current roster sits at 25 players, but that number is a little misleading because it includes Miner, Makar and Merkulov, all of whom are dealing with injuries. And are likely the three players who aren’t included with the main group.

Assuming everyone who is expected to be available is healthy, the opening-night lineup could potentially look something like this.

As always, this is subject to change. Reminder: rosters are due at 3 p.m. MT on Monday.

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabe Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz — Nazem Kadri — T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly — Fedor Svechkov — Logan O’Connor
Zachary L’Heureux

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

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