Avalanche Get Bad News as L'Heureux Ruled Out Long-Term: 'It's Long-Term, for Sure'

Jared Bednar did not soften it. Asked about Zachary L'Heureux on Friday, the Colorado Avalanche head coach gave the answer nobody in Denver wanted to hear. "It's long-term, for sure," Bednar said. "But I don't have a timeline on it." It has been nearly a month since L'Heureux last dressed for a game. The 23-year-old forward played just three games this season, the last of them on October 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, before an upper-body injury took him out of the lineup. Three nights after that Toronto game he was a late scratch before a meeting with Dallas. The initial designation was day-to-day. Then it became week-to-week. Now it is something much longer, and L'Heureux has not yet resumed skating. He is still recovering off the ice, and Colorado placed him on long-term injured reserve on October 23, retroactive to October 10. On paper, the loss looks small. L'Heureux has one assist and a fighting major in an Avalanche sweater this season, and his career numbers — 90 games, nine goals, 12 assists — mark him as a depth player, not a star. But that misses what Colorado thought it was getting when it traded for him in June. The Avalanche sent Jack Drury, Chase Bradley and a third-round pick in 2029 to Nashville for L'Heureux and Fyodor Svechkov, and the two halves of that deal have gone in opposite directions. Svechkov has two goals and five assists in 17 games with a plus-7 rating. L'Heureux's half is on the shelf, and the trade looks lopsided for now. There is a reason the Avalanche wanted him. L'Heureux was the 27th pick in the 2021 draft, and before the trade he had played 87 NHL games with nine goals and 20 points — and led all rookies with 198 hits in 2024-25. Last season he split his year between Nashville and the Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 28 points in 30 AHL games. Colorado saw a physical, bottom-of-the-lineup forward with upside, the kind of player who makes a fourth line hard to play against and a roster harder to push around. The timing is awkward, too. Drury's return to Ball Arena came on Thursday, and Nashville won that game 3-2 in overtime, leaving the Avalanche at 9-6-2 with two straight losses. Bednar had already said he was done being patient after the 7-2 loss in Columbus, so depth is not something he wants to lose right now. Colorado hosts the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, and L'Heureux will not be an option. With no timeline and no skating yet, Bednar has to plan without him for the foreseeable future — and hope the rest of the roster holds up while he does.