The Colorado Avalanche announced this morning that Joel Kiviranta will be out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury in the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 13. Head coach Jared Bednar said he did not have a solid timeline yet, but it would be “weeks.”

Kiviranta first signed a professional tryout for the 2023–24 season. He played ten games in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles, scoring two goals and four assists in ten games. The Avalanche called him at that ime due to an injury to Artturi Lehkonen, where he made himself a permanent fixture with the Avalanche. Kiviranta signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche in August 2025. He has yet to score this season, but had sixteen goals and seven assists last year in a career year.

The Finn has become a key role for the Avalanche with his aggressive play. He has utilized his forecheck and backcheck mostly playing on in a bottom-six role. Last season saw Kiviranta being used throughout the entire lineup, sometimes playing on the top line.

With Kiviranta out of the lineup, Zakhar Bardakov will be the next man up. He is due to make his NHL debut after being a healthy scratch the first five games. Bardakov had seventeen goals and eighteen assists last year in the KHL and made a great impression at training camp. He will will provide a very similar type of game as Kiviranta. Bardakov can play with checking along the boards and forechecking. Bardakov has also cemented himself as an excellent penalty killer while in the KHL, so he could fill in for Kiviranta there.

The Avalanche face the  Boston Bruins at home tonight. Mackenzie Blackwood will sit out out as Trent Miner continues to fill in as the backup on the bech. Defenseman Samuel Girard’s injury has allowed for Ilya Solovyov to play a lot of minutes and prove he is worth keeping on the NHL roster.