Updates on Gabriel Landeskog’s Possible 2024 Reentry into Colorado Avalanche.
Gabriel Landeskog, the captain of the Colorado Avalanche, has missed two complete seasons due to injury. Landeskog has been conspicuously absent from the lineup since suffering a severe cartilage damage on the underside of his right patella during the 2020–21 bubble playoff team. Several surgeries and a protracted recuperation process have been necessary, but a return is anticipated in 2024. During a post-series press conference on Thursday, May 23, Landeskog and Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland shared some information about Landeskog’s anticipated return to the ice in the upcoming season.
When asked if he was close to participating in the postseason, Landeskog told reporters that, “As difficult as it was and as much as I wanted to be out there, it was ultimately the best decision for my health and long-term for this organization.”
Landeskog laughed as he answered the question about the potential release window for the upcoming season: “Between mid-September and the start of April.” It makes me feel fairly nice.
There were many highs and lows for Colorado throughout the six-game second-round series against the Dallas Stars, who went on to win the series. One of the stars, Artturi Lehkonen, will require shoulder surgery this offseason after suffering yet another injury. Still wounded but on the mend, Landeskog skated with the Avalanche before Game 6, but even though his presence probably lifted the team’s spirits, the Avalanche lost in double overtime to the Stars thanks to a brilliant goal by Matt Duchene.
The NHL players battle weariness, injuries, and high expectations heading into the postseason after an exhausting 82-game regular season that ends without a break. Following the Stars’ elimination of Colorado from the playoffs, head coach of the Avalanche, Jared Bednar, addressed this weariness.
“It was tiring, there’s no question. You can see our energy level drop as the periods went on, but our guys played hard. They played hard every shift and defended hard,” Bednar said.
The Avalanche have depended upon the strong leadership of Landeskog in times of past strife and struggle, and he’s been a key component to their team’s success. It stands to reason, then, that the return of their captain on the ice and as a fixture in their locker room could make a huge difference.
