Avalanche activate Cale Makar

The Avalanche are getting some good news and some bad news regarding their back end.  NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays that Cale Makar has been activated off injured reserve and will play today against Dallas.  However, Josh Manson’s lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday is going to keep him out for a while. Boulding lists him as out week to week.

Makar is returning from his second stint in concussion protocol in a matter of weeks with this one keeping him out for the last five games.  Fortunately for both him and the Avs, he told reporters including Kyle Frederickson of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link) that the symptoms were “very, very mild”.

When healthy, the 24-year-old is one of the premier offensive defensemen in the NHL and is hovering around the point-per-game mark with 13 goals and 32 assists in 46 games so far while averaging 26:57 per night, a career-high.  Makar will undoubtedly be a big boost for their back end, especially on the power play.

As for Manson, his first full season with Colorado has not gone according to plan.  Injuries have limited the 31-year-old to just 27 games so far in 2022-23 which is not what anyone was hoping for as he begins a four-year, $18M deal.  At this point, the Avalanche are likely just hoping that he’ll be able to get back late in the season to get ready for the playoffs next month.  Even with his absence, there are seven blueliners on the active roster so no recall from AHL Colorado is likely.