Avalanche D Samuel Girard out week-to-week with upper-body injury

The Colorado Avalanche announced on Saturday that defenseman Samuel Girard will be out on a week-to-week basis with an upper-body injury.

Girard, a left-handed puck-moving blueliner who has been a mainstay on Avalanche rosters since being acquired from the Nashville Predators at the front end of the 2017-18 campaign, has appeared in both of Colorado’s games this season.

In a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, he skated 18:49 while recording a shot on goal, three blocked shots and a pair of hits.

He then played 18:47 in a 2-1 victory against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday with a shot and a hit along with a plus-1 rating. Girard took his last shift within the last five minutes of the third period.

A native of Quebec, Girard has thrived in a depth role supporting Colorado’s standout top pairing of Devon Toews and Cale Makar in recent years. He’s coming off of a 27-point effort in 2024-25.

In Girard’s absence, head coach Jared Bednar will rely more heavily upon Sam Malinski and Brent Burns while Ilya Solovyov will go from the press box to the lineup to take Girard’s spot.

Colorado acquired Solovyov via a waiver claim after he was placed on the wire by the Calgary Flames in the final days of training camp as teams were finalizing their opening night rosters.

Solovyov, a six-foot-two 25-year-old, was a mainstay with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers for the three seasons before this one, putting up 28 points in 59 games from the back end a year ago. In his 15 NHL games, he’s put up four assists and skated to a minus-6 rating.

The Avalanche are in action on Saturday night against their rival Dallas Stars, who eliminated them from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year thanks to a hat trick by former Colorado superstar Mikko Rantanen in Game 7.