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 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鈥檚 first-round playoff series. The Avalanche enter the postseason locked into the Central Division鈥檚 No. 3 seed and will open on the road.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for him and his family,鈥� coach Jared Bednar said Friday before the team left for its two-game trip to California to close out the regular season. 鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 been a long, hard road and to finally get back on the ice in a game situation, I鈥檓 just thrilled for him.鈥�
Several of his Avs teammates very well could be in the stands in Loveland to catch a glimpse of No. 92 in an Eagles sweater. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are among several players skipping the final trip to get some rest before the playoffs. The team may assemble a watch party on the road to catch of glimpse of Landeskog's return to the ice.
鈥淗e put a lot of work in, a lot of time,鈥� said defenseman Erik Johnson, a longtime friend of Landeskog. 鈥淚t's something he didn鈥檛 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.鈥�
Landeskog鈥檚 injury date back to the 2020 鈥渂ubble鈥� 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鈥檚 return.
Landeskog鈥檚 comeback has been the subject of a documentary series called 鈥淎 Clean Sheet: Gabe Landeskog鈥� that鈥檚 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.
鈥淗e carries such a weight within the locker room,鈥� Colorado forward Logan O鈥機onnor said. 鈥淥bviously, his voice is huge.鈥�
As for the plan with Landeskog after Friday, Bednar said that's still to be determined. Over his career, Landeskog has been nearly a point-a-game player in six playoff runs with the Avalanche.
鈥淭his is the toughest time of the year to jump back into a lineup, right? And he鈥檚 still not there yet," Bednar said. "We鈥檒l just see how he does tonight, and we鈥檒l just keep reevaluating from there, just like we would do with any other injury. But the length of time that this has gone on, it鈥檚 significant.
鈥淪o we鈥檒l see how he looks in practice. We鈥檒l make the decisions on our lineup for the games if he gets that point, and go from there. But still one day at a time.鈥�
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AP NHL:
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
