Landeskog could return 'near the start' of season for Avalanche, coach says

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Gabriel Landeskog isn't expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, but it's possible it won't be too long after that he will be back in uniform for the Colorado Avalanche.

The 31-year-old forward, who is Colorado's captain, did not play the past two seasons because of a right knee injury.

"He's trying to make a return here sometime near the start of the season and if that goes well, it would be a really big boost for us," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Saturday while attending 2024-25 South Carolina Stingrays Fan Fest at North Charleston Coliseum. "So, that's something we're all a little anxious about, but really excited about as well. He hasn't played for us in two years."

Bednar, who spent 15 seasons as a player and a coach with the Stingrays of the ECHL from 1995-2009 and lives in Charleston in the offseason, stressed that there is no concrete timetable for Landeskog's return, but said he has been skating, "a handful of times a week" this offseason. Landeskog last played June 26, 2022, when he had an assist to help Colorado win the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Cup Final.

“It’s been a long road -- and still is," Landeskog said Wednesday after playing in a pro-am golf tournament in Colorado, according to The Denver Post. "Still a lot to be done, but I’m excited. I feel like a hockey player again. It’s just a matter of taking all the necessary steps. I’d like to be able to play in game No. 1 and the home opener, but we will see. We’ve still got lots of time.”

Landeskog had quadriceps surgery during the 2020 postseason and had knee surgery in March 2022 and October 2022 before undergoing cartilage replacement surgery on his knee on May 10, 2023. Landeskog resumed skating during last season, and Bednar said in March that returning during the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a possibility, depending on how far the Avalanche advanced.

Although that chance disappeared when Colorado lost to the Dallas Stars in six games in the Western Conference Second Round, Landeskog did not give up hope and said on May 23 that he plans to play this season, providing a wide timeframe of "between mid-September and start of April."

Bednar said there is more optimism now that Landeskog will be able to play perhaps within the first month or two of the season, though the timing remains up to him.

"It's just when he feels well enough to sort of keep ramping up and taking the next step," Bednar said. "It's been a long time now, so there's no rush. It's just all with what he's feeling comfortable with. … Just what he's been able to do both in the gym with his training off the ice and what he's been able to do on the ice, we're certainly optimistic that he'll be able to come back."

The No. 2 pick by Colorado in the 2011 NHL Draft, Landeskog has 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 regular-season games, and has scored at least 25 goals four times, including 30 in 51 games when he last played in 2021-22. He also has 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 69 playoff games.

“I feel really good," Landeskog said Wednesday. "It’s progressing. Every day is attacking it, trying to get better and strong and following the plan that’s been put in place for me. It’s not so much if anymore -- it’s just going to be when. I haven’t come all this way to rush that, so trying to be patient all the way and just check all the boxes I need to.”

His return would potentially be a big lift for the Avalanche, who will also begin the season without forward Valeri Nichushkin and possibly forward Artturi Lehkonen. Nichushkin is suspended until at least November after the 29-year-old was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHL Players' Association Player Assistance Program on May 13. Lehkonen is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

Bednar said forward Logan O'Connor, who is recovering from season-ending hip surgery, should be ready for the start of the season but called Lehkonen "a question mark."

"It will be interesting at the start of the year because you're talking about possibly three really good players that might not be able to start the season, to be determined," Bednar said. "But I think it's an opportunity for some young guys. We've had some guys that are kind of knocking on the door with our team."

Nikolai Kovalenko, 24, Jean-Luc Foudy, 22, Oskar Olausson, 21, Ivan Ivan, 21, and Calum Ritchie, 19, are among the young forwards expected to get long looks in training camp.

"It's going be quite a bit of evaluation going through training camp," Bednar said. "Lots of times your roster is set, and you might be looking for one or two guys. We're definitely looking for guys that can help us at the start of the year."

If the Avalanche can get through the start of the season short-handed, they could be in good position to potentially add Landeskog, Nichushkin and Lehkonen within the first two months.

"You're talking about two first-line wingers and Lehkonen, obviously, the same kind of things," Bednar said. "All those guys kind of bounce around in our top six depending on who we want them to play with, but three guys that can make the impact those three guys can make, obviously, it changes the whole dynamic of our team."

With the Avalanche's core intact, including Nathan MacKinnon, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player last season, and fellow forwards Mikko Rantanen and Lehkonen, and defensemen Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Samuel Girard, Colorado expects contend for the Cup again. Getting Landeskog and Nichushkin back would help.

"It seems like ages ago since we won, and it's only been two years," Bednar said "We all kind of have the itch. … We're all hungry to kind of get back to that spot again. It's a challenge every year, but hopefully some of these dominoes that we're talking about with our players, things work out, and I know we feel like we've got a competitive team again."