Logan O’Connor could be progressing quicker than expected after his second hip surgery in two years. O’Connor skated for the first time at the Colorado Avalanche practice facility on Tuesday.

In early June, the Avalanche announced O’Connor would once again go under the knife. This was after a career-high six points in seven games against the Dallas Stars during the playoffs. He became a deadly player that no one expected to shine during the first round. One of his three goals was a shorthanded goal during Game Four at Ball Arena.

Later in the day, AJ Haefele of DNVR, reported that the surgery was not as extensive as previously thought. Haefele also mentioned that the surgery was on the other hip than the prior surgery. People had thought O’Connor could be out of the lineup through late December. Haefele gave an estimate that he heard it could be as little as 10–16 games.

The report by Haefele could complicate things with the situation with the injured reserve. If Colorado wanted to put O’Connor on long-term injured reserve, they have to keep him there for 10 games and 24 days. The Avalanche might have to put O’Connor on injured-reserve since he is not exceeding the 24-day mark. With the timeframe set by Haefele, we could see O’Connor return as early as October 26 against the New Jersey Devils. The original timeframe had O’Connor returning around December 23 against the Utah Mammoth.

Either way, the gap in the lineup with O’Connor out is tough to fill. He plays a 200-foot game and never lets up on his forecheck. The recent re-signing of Joel Kiviranta may help with that, but he does not bring the same grit to the game as O’Connor does. Some Colorado Eagles like Matt Stienburg or Chase Bradley, who have similar styles in their game, will fill the gap while O’Connor is out.