When a long NHL season ends, the injury news slowly begins to trickle out. For the Colorado Avalanche, that’s exactly what has happened.
Defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Patrik Nemeth are set to undergo offseason surgery after long seasons, while Captain Gabriel Landeskog had to decline an invite from the Swedish National team due to a stomach injury.
For Zadorov, it appears he will be undergoing shoulder surgery. According to Vesti.ru (Link) the league leader in hits had planned to play in the World Championships and then have the surgery, but the doctors advised him the surgery was needed first. It appears to be schedule sometime soon, but no word on recovery time. While Zadorov never missed any games due to injury, he did leave the March 15th game against the St. Louis Blues several times due to what appeared to be an upper body injury and continued to return.
With Nemeth, there is no confirmation on what exactly he needs surgery on, only that he declined an invitation due to a need for an operation after the playoffs were over. Nemeth was picked up on waivers prior to the start of the year and became a mainstay on the Avs blueline, playing a large role in the much improved penalty kill.
Patrik Nemeth meddelade precis nej tack till landslagsledningen. Han ville mer än gärna spela, men han kommer att tvingas till en operation nu efter slutspelet.
— Jonatan Lindquist (account paused) (@Lindquistik) April 23, 2018
As far Landeskog goes, his surgery does not appear to be serious, but still will keep him from representing his country this May. Landeskog told Expressen (link) that he suffered a stomach injury in Game three of the Avs playoff series against Nashville and that will hold him out of the World Championships. The good news is that surgery is not necessary, so it doesn’t appear this will linger long into the summer.
Stay tuned to Mile High Sports for more Colorado Avalanche coverage throughout the summer.