Nic Roy Returns to Avalanche Lineup as Kadri Moves to Third Center

Nic Roy returns to the lineup and Nazem Kadri shifts to third-line center as the Colorado Avalanche restructure lines following a 6-2 loss

“Without going too much into detail, it started in Winnipeg and from there it got worse and worse,” Nic Roy said of the upper-body injury that sidelined him for several matchups. “It’s early in the season. It was that type of injury that, if I kept playing through it, it would’ve kept getting worse.”

Roy is healthy and poised to return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup, coloradohockeynow.com reported. The forward was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice and spoke with the media afterward, putting him in position to play Wednesday when Colorado hosts the New Jersey Devils.

The Colorado Avalanche held one of their more intriguing practices in quite some time on Tuesday, featuring several notable lineup changes following Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. Head coach Jared Bednar spoke at length about what he is seeing from his team and how it needs to respond after its worst performance of the season.

Avs practice lines: Lehkonen – MacKinnon – NecasLandeskog – Nelson – RoySchwartz – Kadri – HughesKelly – Svechkov – O'ConnorToews – MakarKulak – BurnsManson – MalinskiJuulsen rotating inBlackwood, WedgewoodRoy looks like a full-go, and we finally have 3C Naz.

— https://x.com/runwriteAarif/status/2115130885716496463

Lineup adjustments and special teams shakeup

During Tuesday’s skate, Roy occupied the right wing on the second line alongside Brock Nelson and Gabe Landeskog. He also served as a key penalty killer during special teams drills.

Bednar implemented one notable adjustment to the power play by returning Martin Necas to the top unit (PP1) while moving Jaden Schwartz down to the second power-play unit (PP2). Roy previously played in the first game of Colorado’s back-to-back against the Dallas Stars on the road before sitting out the rematch at Ball Arena due to his upper-body ailment.

Down the middle, Bednar moved Nazem Kadri from the second-line wing to third-line center. Kadri centered T.J. Kadri centered T.J. Hughes and Schwartz during Tuesday’s practice, giving Colorado a different look at a position that had been occupied by Fedor Svechkov for the first 12 games.

Svechkov dropped down to fourth-line center, slotting between Parker Kelly and Logan O’Connor. Meanwhile, Roy’s return provides Bednar with another option among his top-six forwards without necessitating a larger role for Hughes, Schwartz, or recent American Hockey League call-ups like Gavin Brindley and Taylor Makar.

The shift allows Kadri to return to his natural position while injecting additional talent into a depth line capable of matching up against top competition.