Colorado Avalanche hope Gabriel Landeskog can return by playoffs

Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog will not play during the 2023-24 regular season but there is a glimmer of hope that he’ll be able to return at some point in the 2024 playoffs. He will miss the second consecutive season due to a knee cartilage transplant he had to undergo.

Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland was asked whether the veteran winger can be expected to return for the playoffs this year. “We’re hoping,” said MacFarland, “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,” he added. “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.”

MacFarland seems pretty confident considering Landeskog is set to miss two full seasons due to his lingering injury issues. He most recently played during the 2021-22 season, scoring 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games. He also played a huge role in the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup championship run when he scored 11 goals and 22 points in 20 playoff games.

There is also the question of if he’ll be able to regain his stride once he does come back, whether that is during the 2024 playoffs or in time for training camp in 2024-25. Landeskog has six years remaining on the eight-year, $56 million contract he signed with the Avalance which began in 2021-22.