After this morning’s practice, the Colorado Avalanche announced that Logan O’Connor will return to the lineup. It has been 290 days since the team said that the forward would be out for 5–6 months. With several setbacks, O’Connor will make his season debut 69 games into the season. The addition of Gabriel Landeskog last game and Ross Colton also coming back after six games brings back much-needed reinforcements to the Avalanche. Both O’Connor and Colton are expected to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

What O’Connor brings back

Logan O’Connor, also known as “The Mayor,” will bring back a strong forecheck to the bottom-six for the Avs. It may take him a few games to get up to speed, but he also brings some sneaky speed to the ice with him. This is part of makes his forecheck so successful. The former DU Pioneer hardly ever gives up on a puck and brings an extra grit that has been missing from the bottom-six all season.

The Calgary native is also a penalty-kill expert. The Avalanche have allowed 12 shorthanded goals this season, and O’Connor could flip the script. He has the most shorthanded goals of any active Avalanche player (6) and is a threat for more.

What Colton brings back

Ross Colton’s performance this year has declined, though he has still contributed. He is third on the team in hits (137) even though he has missed nine games. Until the Washington game on Sunday, the Avs had a losing record when he was not in the lineup (now 4–4–1). Placing him with LOC creates pre-existing chemistry from past seasons, facilitating their progression through the schedule.

Having these two back, along with Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Nic Roy, gives the Avs endless possibilities for line combinations. Depending on how heavy a game Colorado wants to play is where they would place everyone. By having both, if not all three back, it makes the Avalanche 10 times better.