Avalanche’s Gavin Brindley to make return after missing  10 games

The Colorado Avalanche are set to welcome center Gavin Brindley back to the lineup for the first time in 10 games when they take on the Florida Panthers on home ice on Thursday night. 

Brindley last played on Nov. 20 against the New York Rangers and sustained a lower-body injury before being placed on injured reserve with a week-to-week status. He spent 10 games sidelined, but Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said on Dec. 3 that he appeared ahead of schedule in his recovery. 

This season, Bridnley has four goals and seven points in 18 games. 

Selected 34th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round of the 2023 NHL Draft, Brindley spent most of the 2024-25 season in the AHL, where he scored six goals and 17 points in 52 games with the Cleveland Monsters. 

He joined the Avalanche in the summer as part of a trade with the Blue Jackets that sent forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Ohio, while bringing in Brindley alongside a third-round selection (Francesco Dell’elcel) in the 2025 NHL Draft and a conditional second-round choice in the 2027 NHL Draft. 

Still exempt from waivers, Brindley’s time in the AHL is unlikely to be done for good, but he has started to establish himself as an everyday NHL player and will look to regain that form when he returns from injury. 

The Avalanche enter Thursday’s contest sitting atop the NHL’s Central Division with 49 points in 30 games, and will look to continue their hot streak with four of their next six games on home ice. 

After Thursday’s clash with the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Avalanche welcome divisional foes, the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, before hitting the road to meet the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena.