Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has not played yet this season, and it does not look good for a return any point soon.
The organization gave fans an unpleasant update on Thursday, stating that Landeskog would not be ready for the playoffs.
You'll be hard pressed to find an NHL club hit with the injury bug more this year than the Avalanche. Star players such as Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Bowen Byram have all missed extensive time at some points throughout the season. So have Erik Johnson, Josh Manson, Darren Helm and Pavel Francouz.
But the biggest loss of them all has been Landeskog. The forward, who helped lead Colorado to its 2022 Stanley Cup win, has yet to play in a game this season. Landeskog, 30, is still recovering from surgery in the offseason and remains on long-term injured reserve.
The Avalanche, who clinched a playoff spot and still have a chance at winning the Central Division, are going to have to defend their Stanley Cup win without their captain.
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The Sporting News has the latest injury updates on the Avalanche captain.
Will Gabriel Landeskog play this season?
The latest update from the Avalanche was not what fans wanted to hear. The organization announced on April 13 that Landeskog would not be available for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will not play in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs due to a knee injury, the organization announced this afternoon. The 30-year-old forward has missed the entire 2022-23 regular season. pic.twitter.com/TpUtjRKEQs
— x - Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 13, 2023
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Landeskog had been slowly working his way back from injuries, but the updates provided by head coach Jared Bednar where always along the lines of "they don't know."
He joined the team in mid-February in Denver, where he skated at the Avalanche's facilities. While there have been improvements over the last few weeks of his skating, the Avalanche felt the best decision was to shut him down for the year and focus on getting recovered for the 2023-24 season.
Landeskog is starting to put more and more weight on the bad knee every day #GoAvsGo #Avs @FullPressNHL. pic.twitter.com/cBW5OmfdqL
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 23, 2023
Landeskog is moving 10x better than he was last week. #GoAvsGo #Avs @FullPressNHL pic.twitter.com/m5ZzI3bOP3
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) March 2, 2023
Great example of how #Avs Gabe Landeskog is taking his rehab literally stride by stride. Watch the attention to detail here with skills coach Shawn Allard. We’ll get an update from Jared Bednar later today after practice. pic.twitter.com/DrH07gtExu
— Kyle Fredrickson (@kylefredrickson) March 3, 2023
Gabe Landeskog keeps progressing. #Avs pic.twitter.com/uS5mOLeeOM
— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) March 8, 2023
Landeskog in a "sprint." I haven't seen him go faster than this yet, but significantly faster than in November. #GoAvsGo #Avs @FullPressNHL pic.twitter.com/FDRzGYcbBl
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) March 16, 2023
Gabriel Landeskog is on the ice in a non-contact jersey ahead of morning skate. pic.twitter.com/IqyS6V2p6G
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) March 20, 2023
Landeskog on the back end of a sprint. He is looking even better than last week. #GoAvsGo #Avs @FullPressNHL pic.twitter.com/HMMCy57NDc
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) March 27, 2023
Gabriel Landeskog is continuing to skate. He’s in blue with Shawn Allard. Artturi Lehkonen is skating without a stick in red. pic.twitter.com/aY5ukv8jgY
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) March 31, 2023
What is Gabriel Landeskog's injury?
The extensive absence of Landeskog can be credited to the surgery he received in October. His recovery has taken longer than expected, hence the lack of true updates on a Landeskog return.
It's not the first procedure for the Swede on his lower body. There was some recent clarity given by the Avalanche on the surgeries that Landeskog has gone through in the last three years.
According to The Athletic's Peter Baugh, Landeskog underwent surgery on his right quad when it was sliced by a skate in the 2020 bubble.
He then underwent right knee surgery in March of 2022 ahead of the playoffs so that he could be at his best for the postseason. He played in a career-low 51 regular-season games, but it was worth it, as Landeskog lifted the Cup with the Avalanche at the conclusion of the 2022 playoffs.
"Yeah, it was just bothering him though, so he got it fixed," Bednar said. "Yeah, good timing to get it fixed. He didn't want it bothering him through playoffs. So when he had that surgery, he was like, 'I can fix this.'"
In October of this season, Bednar said that Landeskog had what he would call a minor operation to fix discomfort in his leg.
"He did have a procedure [this season], but it wasn't a major surgery," Bednar said. "He had surgery on that quad, and then last year, obviously, when he missed the time in the spring before we went into the playoffs. But this year, he had discomfort coming back in training. It was bothering, hampering him."
That surgery is what Landeskog continues to work back from.
