Avalanche veteran Cody McLeod is a scheduled scratch for Saturday’s season opener and the fourth-line forward will no longer serve as an alternate captain, new coach Jared Bednar said Thursday.
“It’s not fun. I don’t know what else to say,” McLeod said after practice. “But I just need to stay positive and work hard. I’ve never really been in that situation, but that’s where it’s at right now.”
The leadership structure behind captain Gabe Landeskog will include defenseman Francois Beauchemin and forwards Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, with the forwards alternating wearing an “A” on their chest.