Colorado Avalanche centre Nazem Kadri is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Head coach Jared Bednar announced the diagnosis in a radio interview Tuesday on Altitude Sports 92.5 FM in Denver.
“Kadri’s going to miss some time here. He’s going to be out indefinitely,” Bednar said on the Moser, Lombardi and Kane show. “He has a lower-body injury, so we’ll just keep re-evaluating him, but he’s going to miss some time here.”
Bednar added Kadri will be out “weeks, not days.”
Kadri was injured in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild early in the third period. He had one assist in 10 minutes of ice time before the injury, and has 19 goals and 36 points in 51 games this season.
“I think that Kadri’s a big loss,” Bednar said. “You’ve got a face-off guy, you got a power-play guy, you got a second-line centre down the middle that adds some experience and, like you said, that grit and sandpaper.”
With less than two weeks to go before the NHL trade deadline, the Avalanche could look to shore up their centre depth with a move. The club has more cap space than any other team and that number will grow once Kadri hits injured reserve.
“We’ve done a nice job throughout the course of the year, other guys stepping up their games, there’s some opportunity for some other guys in the middle,” Bednar said. “With what we’ve done in previous portions of the year, I’m confident that the rest of the team can step up and fill that void.”
The Avalanche enter play Tuesday three points behind the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division.
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