Avalanche encounters COVID-19 concerns to begin on-ice training camp

Avalanche free-agent depth signings Stefan Matteau and Roland McKeown are in COVID-19 protocol and did not participate in Thursday’s first day of on-ice training camp, which ended with timed end-to-end conditioning drills at Family Sports Center.

Following the two morning sessions, Avs coach Jared Bednar said Matteau, a forward, and McKeown, a defenseman, both tested positive but are near the end of their recovery.

“I don’t like losing those guys, even for a day or two of training camp, but Matteau is cleared but he hasn’t done anything for seven days so we’re just working him out,” said Bednar, who noted Wednesday that the entire camp roster will eventually be vaccinated. “We’ll get him on the ice and get him up to speed. I hate to put him in the first-day skate like that after seven days off and have him pull something. So that’s more precautionary. McKeown is a couple days behind him.”

Matteau and McKeown both signed modest one-year, two-way contracts in July to help complete the Colorado Eagles’ AHL roster and provide depth options for the Avs.

Top pair in red. Devon Toews and Cale Makar, the Avs’ top-pair defensemen last season, were both in red non-contact sweaters Thursday. Toews, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, skated with a skills coach while Makar, a 2021 Norris Trophy finalist, partnered with Sam Girard in the full 26-man first session.

Bednar said Makar “had a procedure” to his upper body recently but is not expected to miss any practice or his appointed preseason games.

“He really doesn’t have anything that’s ailing him at this point, I just don’t want to get him in contact drills where he’s getting hit and everything. Just too early,” Bednar said. “There’s a lot of guys out there that are going to try and push to get noticed. We don’t want guys running into him awkwardly.”

O.C.’s three-year extension. Right winger Logan O’Connor, who is under contract at a $725,000 cap hit this season, signed a three-year extension worth $3.15 million Wednesday. The former University of Denver standout might have got more money as a restricted free agent next summer. But the 25-year-old went for the available term, locking him up through 2024-25.

“The security thing is massive,” O’Connor said Thursday. “I’ve been fortunate enough to call Denver home for my seventh year now, between DU, the Eagles and here. And the fans and the city I love, it’s my home away from home now, so that’s a big part of it. And then the other side of things, we got a good team and a chance to compete here in the near future. So those two things were definitely the biggest factors in deciding to lock it down for (three) years.”

Footnotes. Veteran defenseman Erik Johnson, who played in just four games last season because of head and arm injuries, skated with a tinted visor — often used by those recovering from a concussion. Johnson, 33, partnered with rookie Bo Byram, 20. They could become the oldest and youngest players on the opening-night roster, although there are older and younger players in camp. … The Avs added Gabriel Fontaine to the camp roster in a professional tryout contract. Fontaine, 24, is a fifth-year pro from the New York Rangers organization.