Avalanche Lose Josh Manson to the NHL's Favorite Vague Injury Designation

The NHL injury report remains the most secretive document in modern sports. The Colorado Avalanche announced that defenseman Josh Manson will "miss some time" with a "lower-body injury," according to Daily Faceoff.

In hockey translation, a lower-body injury could mean a bruised calf, or it could mean his leg is currently residing in a different time zone. "Miss some time" is just as helpful, giving us a recovery window somewhere between next Tuesday and the next presidential election.

"Daily Faceoff reported Manson will 'miss some time' with a lower-body injury."

The timing is annoying for a Colorado squad that just handled the New Jersey Devils in a clean 5-2 win. The Avalanche have been trying to lock in their consistency, bouncing back nicely against New Jersey after getting run out of the building in a 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators earlier in the week.

Losing Manson immediately tests the physical depth of this blue line. He is not the guy you rely on to quarterback a power play and rack up 80 points, but he is the guy who clears the crease so the goaltender can actually see the puck.

For anyone eyeing Colorado puck lines or game totals in the near future, this is the kind of quiet roster hit that shifts defensive stability. When a team loses a physical, crease-clearing veteran, the ice suddenly gets a lot more open for opposing forwards looking for cheap rebounds.

The Avalanche will have to reshuffle their pairings while they wait out this incredibly vague timeline. Until the front office decides to share whether "some time" means three games or three months, Colorado's defensive depth is officially on notice.