The Daily Faceoff Show: Bowen Byram is set to return for the Avalanche

Bowen Byram is with the Colorado Avalanche in Pittsburgh and could soon return to the team’s roster for the first time in nearly three months.

On Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna talked about the boost Bryam could give the Avs if he could play at around the level he played before his injury.

Seravalli: “Bowen Byran joined the Colorado Avalanche after a conditioning stint with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He was in Pittsburgh this morning, as you can see from this tweet from Mike Chambers…

Mike, this is an incredibly important story. Byram hasn’t played since January 10 as he suffered a major concussion in November, and he’s faced concussion issues before.

You hate to see that happen to such a talented player, someone who could play such a big role in what the Colorado Avalanche do. Before the concussion, he was close to scoring on that Avs blue line.

If Bowen Byram is healthy, which remains to be seen, how much of a boost is that for Colorado and their chances of winning the Stanley Cup?

McKenna: « I don’t know how much that increases their chances considering he hasn’t played in a while and will be back in the line-up.

This is the beautiful part of the Avalanche currently. The moves they made at the trade deadline, especially bringing in Josh Manson, gave them some flexibility. Even with Sam Girard out of the lineup, even with Ryan Murray out, with Byram back, there are moving parts.

If Byram can come back and play at his pre-injury level, by all means, that’s a boost for the Avalanche. Beyond that, I’m just happy to see him back on the ice and have the opportunity to play. Whenever a player has concussion issues, you worry about it. You don’t want to see a career cut short.

Seravalli: “I’m going to come out and say this is a huge boost for Colorado. If you look at their defensive core, he’s been so good that you wonder where this guy is now?

If you can suddenly drag Josh Manson or Jack Johnson further down the lineup, that makes your team that much stronger. But with all due respect to Devon Toews and the amazing season he’s had, if Bowen Byram is healthy, I’ll say he’s Colorado’s second-best defenseman behind Cale Makar.

The question is how quickly he can get back to that level. If he’s in the lineup and close to 100%, he’s a D-core villain to face in a playoff.

You can watch the full episode here…