After an optional practice on Friday, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar provided a cautiously positive update on the injury status of team captain Gabriel Landeskog. After leading the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup victory in 2022, Landeskog had knee surgery. The Avs captain hasn’t played since the 2022 Stanley Cup Final since requiring a cartilage replacement for his knee in early 2023. Bednar stressed that the star forward is making positive progress, but he refrained from giving any specifics or a timeframe. According to Bednar, “he’s actually doing really well right now,” “I won’t divulge all the details of his activities. Things are going well for him at the moment, but I don’t have any updates. All I can say is that.
Uncertainty has surrounded Landeskog’s recuperation following surgery in May 2023. Although the captain was assigned a 12- to 16-month rehabilitation period, he has been out of commission for more than 18 months, and Landeskog has not yet returned to regular hockey activities with the club. In late November, TSN insider Pierre LeBrun provided an account of the situation, stating that “no NHL player has ever come back and played from” that type of knee surgery and that the Avalanche “don’t know” when Landeskog will be able to return.
“He wants to play; he intends to come back,” LeBrun said on Nov. 22. With Landeskog being placed on long-term injured reserve, his $7 million cap hit doesn’t impact the Avalanche’s books. That said, the franchise will ultimately need to make a decision on their captain considering they have been building a roster taking into account the possibility of an eventual return that is far from guaranteed, with the maneuvering that entails.
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