DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 16: Gabriel Landeskog #92 splashed T.J. Hughes #13 of the Colorado Avalanche in celebration after Hughes scored his first NHL goal in the second period of the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena on October 16, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Ashley Potts/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images Adrian Hernandez Wed, October 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colorado's latest rookie and college free-agent signing showed up on the scoresheet over the weekend and again on Monday night, which has me thinking about T.J. Hughes' near future with the Colorado Avalanche. Hughes' first NHL goal came from Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, scored just after a power play ended.
Usually, guys on the first power-play unit aren't worried about being reassigned to the AHL, but in this case, Logan O'Connor's inevitable return to the lineup and the ne-way contract structure for others in the bottom six likely mean T.J. will be the odd man out when the forward group is fully intact.
However, as we saw with LOC's necessary absence and Zachary L'Heureux's late injury status this weekend, Hughes could get enough NHL time to make himself indispensable. Add a more straightforward path to power-play success, and I see a recipe for T.J. to become an NHL mainstay right now. Let me elaborate.
Now I'm not saying that the Avalanche don't have a player who could take over Hughes' role on the power play. Still, familiarity is paramount to power-play success. Colorado's decision to put Hughes on the top power play unit from the start of training camp means they see him as a real scoring threat.
His net-front goal is exactly the type of goal we've heard players and coaches mention when talking about T.J. on the unit. For me, the big factor is seeing the unit as a whole reintroduce the left-shot threat at the dot opposite Nathan MacKinnon.
We saw the Avalanche move Martin Necas to the second unit after Brett McLean took on the assistant and power play role in Colorado. At first glance, it feels like a brazen move to take someone as skilled as Necas off the ice with a man advantage, but a closer look shows that having Necas and MacKinnon on the ice at the same time undermines the power-play approach due to their shot orientation. It looks like Colorado is getting back to the basics.
With Jaden Schwartz on the opposite flank to MacKinnon's cross-ice saucer passes, the Avalanche have reestablished balance, as his one-timer is dangerous enough to require more attention positionally. As a result, the slot has more space for both the net-front player and bumper to work on loose pucks and find openings closer to the net.
In my opinion, the lack of a real left shot on that side of the ice has been the catalyst for Colorado's lack of power-play success.
Meghan Angley quickly reminded me that the power play was struggling just before Mikko Rantanen left Colorado on last week's Mile High Hockey Lab , but we also know the Moose scored a ton of power-play goals with one-timers or back-door shots. There's also a difference between struggling as a top 10 unit and struggling as a unit which finished bottom six last season.
You can't just set and forget a guy to replace what Mikko Rantanen can do on his first touch, but you can get close, and I think that's the thought process behind Shwartz taking the role. That was also the thought process behind the Viktor Olofsson experiment, but Shwartz has been finishing his chances, and that's the key.
Now, back to Hughes, we've seen guys in the net-front/bumper role on the successful Avalanche power play amass a ton of goals and points. The Avalanche have experimented with guys like Jonathan Drouin, Valeri Nichushkin, and Nic Roy in that spot, and now it's T.J. Hughes. I think the kid from Michigan has the finishing ability to cash in.
We know Logan O'Connor has a spot on this roster once he's done dealing with more important matters, plus Zachary L'Heureux and Fedor Svechkov's contract structure means sending them down would risk losing either to waivers. That makes it easy to see Hughes getting considerable time with the Colorado Eagles in Loveland unless he shows hard-to-ignore production.
What production would make Colorado comfortable keeping Hughes around and risking the waiver wire with L'Heureux or Svechkov?
For me, it's any production that successfully extinguishes Colorado's infamous power-play woes. If T.J. Hughes suddenly becomes a major factor in an otherwise struggling power play, I can't imagine Jared Bednar turning his back on that, as it would point toward winning a lot of games.
The Avalanche lead the league in xGF% vs. xGA% at five-on-five, so adding a power play that scores rather than gives up goals should help them put games away sooner and protect their superstars' TOI.
Jared Bednar has shown us time and time again that he wants the lineup that gives him the best chance to win, and if Hughes' impact on the advantage becomes a major factor, I don't think he's gonna move Hughes.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
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