Makar Returns Next Week, Jarvis Ahead of Schedule: Colorado and Carolina Navigate the Preseason Injury Window

Cale Makar will rejoin Colorado Avalanche practice next week and could appear in one of the team's final two exhibition games, coach Jared Bednar confirmed on Friday. The elite defenseman has been ramping separately from the full squad, building tolerance after his offseason procedure. Bednar's timeline signals a deliberate re-entry rather than a rush—full participation in practice followed by potential game action, not the other way around. That measured approach matters because it tells you the Avalanche aren't gambling with a player who carries their power play and drives transition offense.

Meanwhile, Seth Jarvis is moving faster than expected. The Carolina Hurricanes forward underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason but is already skating well enough that coach Rod Brind'Amour framed it as a matter of when, not if, he suits up early. The medical staff has made clear they won't accelerate the timeline artificially, but Jarvis's current trajectory suggests a genuine chance at opening night or shortly after, rather than a multi-week sit-out.

This convergence has immediate lineup implications. Makar's availability window determines whether Colorado can load its top defensive pairing for the first month of regular season play—a luxury that compounds his shot-generation and assist upside on the back end. When he returns to power play duty, his minutes and touch usage will jump sharply. Jarvis's accelerated recovery shrinks Carolina's need to lean on secondary wingers, meaning his ice time and offensive touch will climb faster than preseason depth charts typically suggest. Both players are being slotted back into high-leverage roles, not gradual work-in scenarios.

From a prop construction standpoint, the market has likely baked in either conservative usage (Makar first week) or delayed availability (Jarvis opening night). His ahead-of-schedule recovery and Bednar's concrete next-week timeline suggest Makar's early-season shot and assist rates may come in higher than standard player-prop lines assume. If he logs 20+ minutes by week two—realistic given his pre-game pacing—his 3.2 assists per 60 minutes on the power play will translate to outsized single-game totals. Jarvis, similarly, stands to outperform any line that prices in a Week 2 debut. The edge here is not directional guessing; it's recognizing that both players' actual deployment windows have compressed, raising their per-game contribution density when they do log heavy minutes.