UPDATED: Mikko Rantanen now on Covid list; no new postponements though

Exactly what we did NOT want to see, we saw this afternoon: Mikko Rantanen, star Avs winger, having an unbelievable season, is now on the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol list.

After three straight days in which no new Avs had been added to the list, and in fact saw Bo Byram come off the list, Rantanen is now on it.

UPDATE: Avs coach Jared Bednar told Altitude 92.5 that Rantanen hasn’t actually tested positive for the virus. He said Rantanen could play next week if there are no further complications.

An NHL source told Colorado Hockey Now that, as of now, there are no new postponements of any existing games. The Avs are slated to resume their schedule Thursday in St. Louis. They are also slated to resume practice tomorrow. As of now, that practice is still on. Of course, things are always subject to change.

Mikko Rantanen joins Philipp Grubauer and Joonas Donskoi on the Covid list. The Avs currently have the most players on the list of any team in the league. Only four other teams in the NHL, in fact, have anyone on the list. How the Avs were subject to an outbreak among multiple players isn’t known and may never be known. Players and staff were given vaccine shots last Monday night.

This is starting to play havoc with the Avs’ season. The Avs have already dropped back into second place in the Honda West Division to the Vegas Golden Knights by two points. Vegas has won seven in a row. The Avs do have two games in hand on Vegas, however. But now, some of those games are likely to be played without their leading goal scorer, No. 1 goalie and a valuable top-9 forward.

In other words, not good. I would say, hold your breath before tomorrow’s list is made public, folks.