Avalanche fully – Joe Sakic says the Colorado Avalanche expect everyone injured at the end of the Western Conference Finals to be healthy for training camp, with Nathan MacKinnon—alongside Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Gabriel Landeskog—among the group expected to return after
The sting of the Western Conference Finals loss to the Vegas Golden Knights is still there, but Colorado’s message heading into what comes next is simple: the Avalanche expect to be back at full strength.
Joe Sakic, the Avalanche president of operations, said the team will have a fully healthy roster when training camp begins. The plan, as relayed by Avalanche beat writer Bailey Curtis, is that everyone injured at the end of the postseason run is expected to be healthy and ready to go.
Nathan MacKinnon is the headline among the names tied to the injuries. He sustained an injury during the Western Conference Finals. and his availability is also framed as a key concern heading forward. Still. Sakic’s broader expectation is that MacKinnon will likely be ready to return. even after what the Avalanche would describe as a disappointing end to their chase.
The same outlook is wrapped around other core pieces. Cale Makar. Martin Necas. and Gabriel Landeskog are listed among the key players expected to be back when training camp rolls around. Coach Jared Bednar will also return. with the shared focus on getting back to the kind of spring hockey the Avalanche were chasing.
Colorado finished with the best record in hockey. even with an offseason defined by the hard lesson of injuries during their postseason exit. Sakic has built a contender capable of going all the way next season—yet the road back starts with health. Training camp becomes the checkpoint for that promise.
The questions don’t stop at who’s available, though. Discussions are expected about which players the Avalanche will add in order to improve the team after the loss to Vegas. But the Avalanche also plan to retain much of the same roster they had this season. banking on continuity behind the core group.
There’s also a practical reason Colorado could keep its flexibility: much of the salary cap could go toward defense. That’s because the Avalanche currently have four defensemen scheduled to leave via free agency. Even with that potential turnover on the blue line. the central idea remains unchanged—Colorado wants to head into training camp with the same goal of winning their second Stanley Cup in the last decade.
For now, the weight of the Western Conference Finals defeat remains the backdrop. For Sakic and the group moving into camp, the priority is what comes after it: a roster that’s whole enough to make the next push feel inevitable instead of fragile.
Colorado Avalanche Joe Sakic training camp Western Conference Finals Vegas Golden Knights Nathan MacKinnon Cale Makar Martin Necas Gabriel Landeskog Jared Bednar
So they’re just saying everyone’s fine now? Vegas really hurt them though.
I mean MacKinnon always comes back, right? Teams say “healthy for camp” every year and then somebody’s suddenly “day-to-day.”
Wait Landeskog too? Thought he’d been out forever, like actually done. This article makes it sound like the injuries were from the Finals and not like years-long stuff, so idk.
They better add some depth or it’ll be the same story. If the salary cap is going to defense like they said, does that mean they’re ignoring scoring again? Also Sakic “expects” they’ll be back… expects is not the same as guaranteed, folks.