The Colorado Avalanche are preparing to open the regular season on Wednesday night as they host the Los Angeles Kings. The team has had plenty of injury concerns heading into the season. The Avalanche got good news about Gabriel Landeskog, as well as about Cale Makar.

Meanwhile, the team just got bad news about two other players, per Corey Masisak of The Denver Post.

According to head coach Jared Bednar, Logan O'Connor and Zachary L'Heureux have both been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to September 21. Both of them were day-to-day after suffering injuries in the final preseason game. With the two forwards out of the lineup, Colorado will begin the season with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

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O'Connor was undrafted in 2018 and attended a development camp with the Colorado Avalanche. He would make the NHL roster for five games in the 2018-19 season and another 16 the next year, before becoming a full-time NHL player. He played just 13 games in the regular season in 2025-26 after missing much of the season due to offseason hip surgery. The forward also played 13 games in the playoffs, scoring a goal and adding an assist.

L'Heureux was the 27th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. He finally made it to the NHL in the 2024-25 season. L'Heureux played just 25 games at the NHL level in 2025-26, scoring four goals and adding one assist. He was traded to the Avalanche this offseason in the Jack Drury deal.

The Avalanche are one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final and have just given Jared Bednar a contract extension. Puck drop against the Kings is set for 10 pm ET on Wednesday.