Avalanche Forward Hit With Another Injury, But It’s a Different Issue

Zach L’Heureux’s injury troubles have continued early in his Colorado Avalanche tenure, but his latest setback is unrelated to the one that delayed his season debut.

L’Heureux is dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of Colorado’s last three games. The issue surfaced on the afternoon of the Avalanche’s matchup against the Dallas Stars, and he has yet to return to the lineup.

The forward’s absence will extend into Colorado’s upcoming road trip. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed Saturday that L’Heureux will not travel with the team, meaning he will miss a back-to-back against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Nicolas Roy will also remain in Colorado as he continues to deal with a lower-body injury. While L’Heureux is set to miss at least two more games, the Avalanche will look to navigate the road trip before returning to Ball Arena on Friday, October 23, to host the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It marks another frustrating interruption for L’Heureux, who had only recently worked his way back from a lower-body injury suffered during the preseason.

Acquired from the Nashville Predators in an offseason trade alongside Fedor Svechkov, L’Heureux sustained the injury on September 21 during Colorado’s preseason game against the Winnipeg Jets. He missed the Avalanche’s final two preseason games, and the setback carried into the regular season, forcing him to sit out the team’s first two contests.

L’Heureux eventually made his Avalanche debut on October 7 against Winnipeg at Canada Life Centre. Colorado suffered a 3-2 loss, but the forward logged 8:22 of ice time across 12 shifts. He recorded his first point with his new team the following night, helping Colorado secure a 7-3 win over the Calgary Flames.

He appeared in one more game, a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Ball Arena on October 10, before the new injury sidelined him. Shortly before Colorado’s game against Dallas, a team spokesperson confirmed that L’Heureux would be unavailable after developing an upper-body issue earlier that afternoon.

Unlike his preseason setback, the current injury affects a different part of his body. With two more games on the schedule before Colorado returns home, L’Heureux will have to wait for another opportunity to build momentum in his first season with the Avalanche.