Avalanche get bad news on Josh Manson’s ankle injury, out months

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar revealed bad news about defenseman Josh Manson on Friday.

Manson, who skated gingerly off the ice and down the tunnel on Wednesday night against the Devils, has an ankle injury.

Bednar is expecting him to miss about eight weeks.

Avs coach Jared Bednar says Josh Manson is likely to miss about eight weeks with an ankle injury.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) October 30, 2026

Manson, a mainstay on the Avalanche blue-line since the team won the Stanley Cup in 2022, had played in all 13 of Colorado’s game thus far. He registered one goal and three assists while averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice-time per contest.

The Avalanche had been playing seven defenseman and 11 forwards in the bulk of their early games due to other injuries, but likely now will shift back full-time to a more traditional lineup with six defenseman and 12 forwards.

Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Brent Burns, Sam Malinski, Brett Kulak and Noah Juulsen will occupy those six spots. Juulsen is the least known, having appeared in eight games this year, tallying one assist and no goals in 10:37 of action per game.

Colorado will host Calgary at Ball Arena on Saturday night, but will do it without Manson for now and likely until right around the time the calendar flips to 2027.

Related

Jared Bednar sends strong message to Avs about motivation after recent slumpAvalanche get badly outshot by Devils, lose again and are now in a funkAvalanche hire Brett McLean as Dave Hakstol officially leaves townNathan MacKinnon got in another fight, briefly left the ice with a bloody faceCale Makar won’t play against Stars as he’s about to become a fatherReport: Avalanche lose power play coach Dave Hakstol to Arizona State