The Colorado Avalanche will be without Nathan MacKinnon for a brief period. The team’s best player left early in a loss to the Los Angeles Kings Monday night. He suffered a lower-body injury and did not return.
Nathan MacKinnon will be out 1-2 weeks with a lower body injury. pic.twitter.com/ewVWqps4rk
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 11, 2020
Nathan MacKinnon Out
MacKinnon is having one of the best seasons of any player this year. The 24-year-old has 35 goals and 93 points in 69 games this season. He has been an outstanding scoring threat at both even-strength and on the power-play. There is very little MacKinnon hasn’t been able to do this year in what could be a Hart Trophy-winning campaign.
MacKinnon may only continue to get better for the next several years. His scoring pace has increased beyond last year’s 41 goals, 99 point season. Players seemingly reach their peak around age-26 or 27 but MacKinnon has a few seasons to go before he hits that ceiling. His production coupled with his cap hit of just $6.3 million makes him one of the league’s best and most valuable players. The challenge for Colorado is acquiring a supporting cast capable of helping MacKinnon when he draws defensive attention.
What This Means for the Future
The team could struggle to find a consistent replacement for MacKinnon. Nobody on the team is a proven combination of speed and scoring ability. Tyson Jost has the potential to be a top centre but hasn’t put all of his skills together for a full season. J.T. Compher is one other option but has not demonstrated great chemistry with Gabriel Landeskog. The team might ultimately turn to deadline acquisition Vladislav Namestnikov who is good on the power-play but has issues with the puck at even-strength.
This injury could be huge for Colorado. They have suffered multiple injuries this year but none have been to a player of MacKinnon’s calibre. Watch the team’s approach in the season’s final weeks closely; they are a solid playoff team right now but will need to manage health carefully before the playoffs.
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