DENVER — If all goes well, the Colorado Avalanche may just have captain Gabriel Landeskog back for another playoff run.
Landeskog is taking another step toward playing his first NHL game in nearly three years as the Avalanche sent him on a minor league conditioning assignment Wednesday.
The Avalanche assigned the 32-year-old Landeskog to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. The Eagles play home games Friday and Saturday.
A gritty player known for his tenacious net presence, Landeskog has been sidelined by a knee injury and subsequent surgeries since he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022. Landeskog could be activated for Game 1 of Colorado’s first-round playoff series if the conditioning assignment and additional practices go well. The Avalanche will enter the postseason as no worse than the Central Division’s No. 3 seed.
Landeskog’s injury stems back to the 2020 bubble season when he was sliced above the knee by the skate of Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.
The procedure was similar to the one performed on Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball in March 2023. Ball returned to the court for a preseason game in October, which hinted at a possible timeline for Landeskog’s return.
Landeskog’s comeback has been chronicled in a documentary series called “ A Clean Sheet: Gabe Landeskog ” that’s airing on TNT and TruTV.
Defenseman Erik Johnson, who was brought back to the team in a trade on March 7, respects Landeskog’s persistence in his attempt to play again.
“He could have sailed off into the sunset and called it a career,” Johnson recently said, “and collected his paycheck for the next five years, and wiped his hands and been a legend in this organization. He still is, whether he comes back or not, but he wanted to see this thing through.
“He doesn’t owe anyone anything. For him to put his body through this and try and come back to help this team is pretty special.”
Landeskog is in his 13th season as a captain, with only Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin serving as leaders of their current teams for a longer span. The second overall pick in 2011, Landeskog won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie and was an NHL All-Star in 2018-19.
Over his career, Landeskog has been nearly a point-a-game player in six playoff runs with the Avalanche. He has three more years left on his contract.
Should he return, Landeskog would have to get up to speed in a hurry — and under the pressure of playoff hockey. Landeskog has familiarity with Nathan MacKinnon, Makar and several other players. But there are quite a few new additions since he’s been away that he’s going to have to develop an on-ice bond with on the fly.
“Just a very, very well-rounded player,” Charlie Coyle, who was acquired in a trade last month, said of Landeskog. “You hear what a great leader he is. … He leads by example. He’s very well-respected. You can tell the good head on his shoulders that he has, how he carries himself, the work he puts in — you can go on and on about a guy like that and what he brings.
“He doesn’t necessarily have to be in the lineup to do that or show that. He just kind of oozes it.”
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