The bad news just keeps coming for the Colorado Avalanche this season, with the news just breaking that stellar forward Tomas Fleischmann will be out for the rest of the season.

The team announced that Fleischmann would be done for the year after discovering that he’d been suffering from a pulmonary embolism. Frequently unable to catch his breath, Fleischmann was evaluated by team doctors who then discovered the serious health condition. Due to the nature of the recovery process, Fleischmann will be unable to perform his necessary hockey tasks.

“The nature of his condition requires him to be on blood thinners for several months and he will be unable to play hockey during this time. Tomas’ condition was discovered this afternoon when he was evaluated for shortness of breath.” - Avalanche team physician Dr. David Mellman

When it comes to a blockage of the lung, there is no fooling around. The concern suddenly becomes twofold: is this indicative of a larger clotting problem and, more importantly, will he continue to be hindered by this in the future. Due to the fact that those who’ve suffered a pulmonary embolism are more likely to experience them again in the future, the worst case scenario could be that this super-athlete might never play hockey again.

Tomas Fleischmann came to the Avalanche from the struggling Washington Capitals and has lit the lamp since, quickly finding a welcoming home in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Scoring eight goals and 13 assists in just 22 games with Colorado, Fleischmann proved that he was capable of maintaining an elite level of play while also being a dependable forward. His absence will certainly be felt.

Now the Avalanche, who seemed to be sitting pretty in terms of depth, suddenly find themselves in need of a near-point-per-game player if they hope to bolster their position in a tight Western Conference race. The time for other talent on this young team to shine is now.

What do you think? Is this team doomed? What move would you make?

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