The Colorado Avalanche will be without winger Arturi Lehkonen for four to six weeks due to a broken toe, head coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday. Bednar joined “Moser, Lombardi and Kane” on Altitude Sports Radio. and confirmed that Lehkonen broke his finger during a victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.
Lehkonen will undergo surgery when he returns to Denver.
“I’m guessing it’s usually four to six weeks,” Bednar said. “Sometimes there can be more.”
After scoring the winning goal in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, Lehkonen had a great first full season with the Avalanche. He spent the entire campaign at the top of Colorado and set new career highs in goals (20), assists (29) and points (49).
Bednar said the Avalanche will miss Lehkonen, who also plays a prominent role on special teams.
“This is a huge loss,” Bednar said. “Everyone who watches this team play knows how hard he works and what he brings to our team. Top notch guy. A top 6 guy who contributes in all areas and plays 20 minutes a night. It’s a huge loss.”
Lehkonen joins a long list of Aves who have been sidelined by injury this season. Gabriel Landeskog, Eric Johnson, Darren Helm, Pavel Francouz and Josh Manson were no longer in Colorado.
“The hits for this band keep coming,” Bednar said.
Despite an injury raging in Colorado’s locker room, the team is still battling to win the Central Division. The Avalanche are four points behind the second-place Minnesota Wild and seven points behind the first-place Dallas Stars.
Source: www.cbssports.com
