Nathan MacKinnon will be replaced at the All-Star Game.

The Colorado Avalanche have lost one of their representatives at the upcoming National Hockey League All-Star Game.

On Sunday morning it was announced that Avalanche star forward Nathan MacKinnon would need surgery to repair his damaged nose, a procedure that has now left him ineligible for the upcoming All-Star weekend. It may very well be that MacKinnon could play with a special protective helmet or something of that nature, but given that the All-Star Game really means nothing in terms of the NHL standings it is easy to see why he would opt to sit out.

Earlier in the week MacKinnon took a big hit from Boston Bruins forward Taylor Hall, and that hit sent MacKinnon's own stick right in into his face. MacKinnon's nose took the brunt of that impact and the end result was the Avalanche star sporting a pretty nasty looking injury, and to be honest an ugly looking nose as well. If you didn't see the incident, here is a short replay of the hit:

Here is a photo that really captured just how much damage the hit and the stick did to MacKinnon's face:

Several players have made the move to skip the All-Star Game in recent years and while I am not suggesting MacKinnon is using this as an excuse to do so, it does provide him with a great reason for doing so if he did not wish to attend in the first place.

On Sunday morning, NHL insider David Pagnotta broke the news that MacKinnon would be replaced at the All-Star festivities by Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi. The swap is a little bit of a strange one given that MacKinnon is a forward and Josi is a defenseman, but for whatever reason the NHL has decided that this was the appropriate move in response to MacKinnon pulling out of All-Star weekend.

This will no doubt be well received by fans in Nashville who will now get to see their captain participate in a variety of events set to take place this weekend.