The Colorado Avalanche have quietly put together an outstanding follow up campaign after their breakthrough 2009-10 season. While their Pacific Division lead over the Vancouver Canucks is unstable at best, their six-game winning streak, league-best 121 goals scored and impressive array of speedy young talent indicates that they’re going to be a factor in the Western Conference for quite some time.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that they will have to keep their locomotive offense going without Kyle Quincey, a defenseman who has prospered since he left the Detroit Red Wings organization to play with Colorado and Los Angeles.
Colorado reports that the defenseman will undergo season-ending surgery on his shoulder in the “near future.” While Quincey has regressed after underrated seasons (only one assist and a -5 rating in 21 games this season), losing the 25-year-old defenseman still a tough bit of news for the team.