DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog has rejoined the Colorado Avalanche after taking part in a two game minor-league rehab assignment.
The team said the captain’s conditioning loan to the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles was terminated. He played games for the Eagles in the latest step toward a return from a knee injury that has led to two surgeries and caused him to miss the past three regular seasons.
It was the first time the 32-year-old Landeskog has played in a professional game since hoisting the Stanley Cup in late June 2022. It was a successful minor-league stint for Landeskog, too, filled with hard checks, tumbles to the ice, a scrum where he put a player in a headlock and even a goal.
He told reporters after the second game his knee feels “really good.”
“Obviously, I’ve been skating for a long time now, and I’ve been working on all nuances of skating,” he added. “It’s one thing to be on the ice and skate and do certain drills, but it’s another one to do it in a game — game speed and game intensity. I know I put the work in. I know I’ve put my time in and now this weekend, I’ve gotten a chance to just not put it to the test but take the next step and just trust my training — trust where my knee’s at, and it’s been feeling really good.”
The Swedish forward could be activated as soon as the end of the regular season to play in Game 1 of the Avalanche’s first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.
His return is a major boost for Colorado, especially given the difficult path through the Western Conference.
“Not anywhere near where I want it to be,” Landeskog said after his performance. “But I think it’s a good step in the right direction.”
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