‘Mentally, I felt really close’: Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog focusing on NHL return

In a press conference alongside GM Chris McFarland today, Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog confirmed that he is not going to retire from the NHL, but instead will look to get back into a spot where he can return again in the future.

“Mentally, I felt really close,” Landeskog said when discussing the potential of returning during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Gabe Landeskog on how close he came to returning. Says he’s still “laying the foundation” which is FAR different from playing in an NHL game pic.twitter.com/3pT6IXhE6w

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) May 23, 2024

Landeskog last played in the NHL in the Stanley Cup-clinching game on June 26, 2022. He registered an assist en route to his first – and only – assist in NHL competition.

“This is a slow form of torture,” Landeskog said in regards to missing out on playoff action. “Win or lose, you want to be out there with the guys.”

The Stockholm, Sweden product missed all of 2022-23 following a procedure on his knee in October, the second he had on that same knee. Following the procedure, the initial prognosis was a 12-week recovery timeline. However, he was ruled out of the playoffs just days before they started, and the hopes of an Avalanche Stanley Cup repeat looked bleak. The Avalanche lost their first-round series matchup to the Seattle Kraken in seven games.

Landeskog participated in drills with the Avalanche before getting eliminated earlier this month.

Then, on May 9, 2023, the Avalanche announced that Landeskog would miss the entirety of 2023-24. There was some hope that he could have potentially returned had the team advanced past May of this year, but the Avalanche were eliminated by Dallas in the second round.

The 31-year-old just finished the third year of an eight-year $56 million extension he signed in the summer of 2021. The contract has an average annual value of $7 million and is set to expire in 2029.

Landeskog was drafted second overall by Colorado in the 2011 NHL Draft. Through 738 career games over parts of 11 regular seasons with the Avalanche, Landeskog has collected 248 goals and 571 points. The 6-foot-1 left winger has added 27 goals and 67 points in 69 career playoff contests.