Avalanche hoping Landeskog returns for playoffs
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Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog missed all of last season while battling a right knee injury and is expected to miss the entire upcoming regular season after undergoing his third knee procedure in the span of roughly 14 months earlier this summer.
But according to general manager Chris MacFarland, there is a chance the team's captain could be ready for the Stanley Cup Playoffs if all goes well with his recovery.
“We’re hoping,” MacFarland told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic last week. “There’s still so much that needs to be gleaned in this so it’s hard to put a timeline on it.”
“He’s about four months [into his recovery], and he’s doing incredibly well,” MacFarland cotinued. “We miss so much about what he brings, not just in terms of the goals and assists and power play and penalty kill, but just his presence in the room, being one of our emotional-barometer guys.
“He’s going to miss the regular season, and then I wouldn’t bet against Gabriel Landeskog in anything. If there’s somebody that’s going to deal with what he’s dealing with, with the right attitude and determination, it’s him. He’s our Viking.”
The Stockholm native has not played since winning the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. He was initially ruled out for the early part of the 2022-23 season after he underwent a procedure in October, which was his second operation on the knee. It was then announced in May that he would undergo cartilage replacement surgery and miss the entire 2023-24 season.
“I just have to do what’s right for my health and really, ultimately, do what I can so I’m able to go out there and play with the guys and continue chasing more Stanley Cups,” Landeskog said in May. “Is it going to be a long road? Yeah. But motivating factors are plenty.”
Landeskog said this spring that he spoke to Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who had a similar procedure earlier in the year. Ball has not played in an NBA game since January of 2022 and, like Landeskog, has had several knee procedures.
“It’s an injury that’s hard to rehab,” Landeskog said. “Once the injury is done and there’s enough damage in there, it’s sort of hard to patch the holes without going through this procedure at this time with the symptoms that I have and with what I’m experiencing.”
The second overall selection of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Landeskog had 22 points in 20 games during Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup run.
For his career, Landeskog has 248 goals and 323 assists in 738 games over 11 seasons.
He has six seasons remaining on an eight-year, $56 million deal.