Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog rejoins team after conditioning stint
Gabe Landeskog has returned to the Colorado Avalanche after playing the first two AHL games of his career.
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Gabe Landeskog has returned to the Colorado Avalanche after playing the first two AHL games of his career.
Landeskog, who has not played for the Avs since Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, joined the Colorado Eagles on a conditioning assignment last week. The Avalanche captain practiced Wednesday with the Eagles, then played for them on Friday and Saturday nights.
He scored a goal and had an assist in the Saturday game. The Eagles have three more games this week to conclude their regular season, but Landeskog’s assignment was for a maximum of six days. The Avs could have petitioned the NHL for an extension, but he is rejoining the big club instead.
Colorado’s regular season ended Sunday night with a comeback win in Anaheim. The Avalanche will play Game 1 of an opening-round series against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center, likely on Saturday or Sunday.
Landeskog did not play in a hockey game for 1,020 days because of issues with his right knee stemming from an accidental skate cut just above the knee in Edmonton during the completion of the 2019-20 season.
He played through significant pain during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and has had several procedures to fix the knee, the most recent being knee ligament replacement surgery in May 2023. No player has had that procedure and returned to play in the NHL, but Lonzo Ball had it done in March 2023 and returned for the Chicago Bulls this season.
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