There were several moments between November and January where it seemed like Logan O’Connor wasn’t going to return for the Avalanche.

Offseason hip surgery, on the hip that was not the focus of surgery in 2024, delayed his 2025-26 campaign. But it was a mystery injury that popped up just as he was nearing a return that put his season in jeopardy.

Even his teammates in the locker room weren’t sure if he would make it back.

“I feel like in the back of your mind, you’re always hopeful that he was going to find his way back, but, if I’m being honest with you, we didn’t really know the whole season until towards the end there,” Ross Colton said.

O’Connor had his moments of skepticism as well.

“There are definitely a couple moments (of doubt) throughout the way, your uncertainty of knowing what it was for as long as it took,” O’Connor told The Denver Gazette. “Once you get to the point where you see a lot of people and there’s not a ton of clarity, there’s definitely frustration.

“There was definitely moments where it was like, ‘I don’t know if this season’s in the cards or not.'”

O’Connor was very much on track to return in early November from the hip surgery, a surgery he knew was a possibility at some point in his future but creeped up on him quickly last season. In March 2024, O’Connor’s season came to an end as a torn labrum he had been dealing with for several years came to a head. In June 2025, he had surgery on the other hip, as it had started bothering him in the middle of the season.

It didn’t seem to bother O’Connor when the playoffs rolled around, as the winger was one of Colorado’s top players against Dallas, recording six points in seven games. He said the playoffs were the best it had felt since the pain began. But when he started to work out after the season, it became a problem again. That’s when he decided to move forward with the surgery, thinking he’d only miss the first 15-20 games at most this season.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things worked out.

O’Connor all but disappeared from the Avalanche facility for months. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise for the Calgary native, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy in November. He got to spend time with his family, time he wouldn’t have gotten without the injury. He knew he still wanted to get back.

Finally, there was a breakthrough.

“I’d say (it turned) middle-to-end of January, like right before the Olympic break,” O’Connor said. “I stayed here the whole time and followed a pretty specific program we had to return to play. As that program was progressing, we saw right away I would be playing sooner than maybe we originally thought at some point and saw that it was closer at that moment. I was gearing up, longer skates, no pain, and we knew that it was on a good track then.”

When the time came for him to return to game action, the Avalanche had two options. Either send him to the Colorado Eagles for a conditioning stint to help him get his legs back under him, or throw him to the wolves and let him get back up to speed with the Avalanche. While the original plan was the former, the Avalanche opted for the latter. It wasn’t easy for O’Connor.

“The hardest part was the no practice, I think,” O’Connor said. “Our skills coach (Mark Popovic) said to me the lack of practice time I had sort of put the games that I played more as like a training camp. A very unique situation, like first 7-10 games, only two weeks, that was sort of like a training camp for me to get up to speed, not doing any 5-on-5 drills or anything.”

While O’Connor looked like someone who had hit the ground running to most folks, his coach could tell something was bugging the winger.

“I just told him when he came back, he’d look like after a handful of games that he was getting frustrated with his game. Maybe not outwardly, but I could kind of tell,” Jared Bednar said. “I just told him, I set the expectations for him. Just get your habits in place, it’ll all come together.”

So the Avalanche let him work through everything. Instead of taking him out at the end of the season like they did with some veterans, they kept him in the lineup to make sure that he could get fully up to speed. O’Connor didn’t score a goal in the 13 regular-season games he played in.

He saved his first for Game 1 of the playoffs and has been a menace in each of the six playoff games the Avalanche have played.

“He’s never going to get outworked. He’s never going to get out-competed,” Bednar said. “He’s a great skater. For him, it’s just a matter of getting the feel of the game and getting back to the speed of the game and get used to guys leaning on him and the body contact and physicality that comes with it. I knew he’d grow that over time. I don’t think there was any doubt he was going to get back to playing at a high level quickly. It’s just a matter of how long that was going to take.”

It didn’t take long. And his teammates are sure happy that’s been the case.

“We tease him. He’s the Mayor of Denver. He’s been here for so long,” Colton said with a smile. “He goes out there, he plays 110 miles an hour, he flies around. He’s great on the forecheck. He’s great on the ‘PK,’ big voice in the locker room, leads-by-example type of guy. I feel like everyone feeds off him.”

What I’m hearing

• O’Connor has really bothered Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes, so I asked him about how to effectively contain the defenseman. “He’s (a) top-two defenseman in the league. I think we got No. 1 (Makar), but he’s obviously earned the right to be in that conversation. … I think defending him, you got to give him enough space to where, if he makes his move, he’s not getting right by you, but give him some degree of separation to try and close him off right after that. I think there are moments when, if you’ve got him in a good spot, you want to try and make it difficult on him. Finish the check, however hard it may be, I think any little bumps, cross-checks, tenacity, him going back in the zone, having to turn back again, making his minutes hard. He plays 30-plus minutes a night. For any (defenseman) that’s hard, especially the way he skates.”
• Ross Colton blocked a shot with his hand in Game 2 but said he’s fine. He called it a “stinger.” On the bench, Mackenzie Blackwood looked to be concerned and checking on him after it happened, putting his arm around Colton. So what did he say? “He told me to suck it up,” Colton joked.

What I’m seeing

• Utah looked faster than Vegas, but they just didn’t have the size or experience to beat them. Anaheim, on the other hand, has a bit of both and is unlucky to not be leading that series 2-0 right now. Leo Carlsson is a heck of a young player.
• Nazem Kadri’s 5-on-5 production hasn’t been the best since arriving back in Colorado, but there’s no denying the positive impact he’s had on the power play. The Avalanche’s numbers with and without him on the top unit are night and day.

What I’m thinking

• Neither Joel Eriksson Ek or Jonas Brodin has skated since their injuries, putting their status in question for the remainder of the series. Bad luck for the Wild, but it also showcases why the Avalanche put such a heavy emphasis on winning the Central Division to avoid that No. 2/3 matchup in the first round.
• Every time I get frustrated with the NHL alternating between TNT and ESPN, I remember the NBA playoffs are on about six different channels and streaming services and realize it could be worse.