Gabriel Landeskog is expected to play in a professional game Friday night for the first time in nearly three years when he suits up with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League.
The longtime Colorado Avalanche captain is on loan to the Eagles as part of a minor league conditioning assignment. He went through the morning skate at Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado, and was given the green light to make his Eagles debut against the Henderson Silver Knights.
Landeskog has been sidelined since he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022 because of a knee injury and subsequent surgeries.
If all goes well with his Loveland stint, the 32-year-old gritty forward from Sweden could be activated for Game 1 of Colorado’s first-round playoff series. The Avalanche enter the postseason locked into the Central Division’s No. 3 seed and will open on the road.
Several of his Avalanche teammates very well could be in the stands in Loveland to catch a glimpse of No. 92 in an Eagles sweater. Some of them may stay behind to rest when the team leaves town Friday to close out the regular season with two games in California.
“He put a lot of work in, a lot of time,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, a longtime friend of Landeskog. “It's something he didn’t have to put his body through but wanted to for the team. To have him get this far in his recovery is exciting for us.”
Landeskog’s injury date back to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.
The procedure was similar to the one performed on Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball in March 2023. Ball returned to the court for a preseason game in October, which hinted at a possible timeline for Landeskog’s return.
Landeskog’s comeback has been the subject of a documentary series called “A Clean Sheet: Gabe Landeskog” that’s airing on TNT and TruTV.
This is Landeskog's 13th season as a captain, with only Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin serving as leaders of their current teams for a longer span.
“He carries such a weight within the locker room,” Colorado forward Logan O’Connor said. “Obviously, his voice is huge.”
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