Gabriel Landeskog skated Thursday for the first time since having a cartilage transplant in his right knee on May 3, but the Colorado Avalanche captain is expected to remain out the rest of this season.
"There's really nothing new," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said after practice Thursday. "This has been part of the plan for quite some time, the next step in his process to start getting on the ice. I'm assuming, and I don't know for certain, like it's not going to be every day on the ice kind of thing. He'll mix that into his rehab work and his gym work until eventually he's hitting the ice every day.
"I think the biggest part of that is it probably feels great for him, to just be back around the guys. That's one step in getting back here and doing his rehab here around the guys and being part of it. And our guys, having him around, it's great on both sides, but I'm sure for him this has been a long road, to now get to be able to get back on the ice and do some things that would be sort of a refreshing step in his process to return."
The 31-year-old forward has not played since 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. He previously had surgery on his quad during the 2020 postseason and knee surgery twice, in March 2022 and again in October 2022, and missed all of last season.
At the time of his second knee surgery, Landeskog was expected to be out 12 weeks.
"I think just on time," Bednar said when asked about a specific timeline for Landeskog's return. "There was never really a set day. Just go through the different steps and when you get to that point. Like it's always pushing and finding exercises in the gym and with his rehab that work for him, that can help him strengthen and feel better.
"I'm sure there's some things that bother him that he doesn't do, and then it's just going through that process and then eventually it's getting on the ice and doing what you can do without any discomfort and kind of moving on from there and just keep building. So I don't think there was ever really a set timeline on when he'd get on the ice. We know that he's still a long ways out, right? But to have him on the ice at this point, knowing that there's still a lot of work to do, I think is a real positive step in the right direction."
Landeskog, who has not played more than 54 games in a full NHL season since 2018-19, has been productive when healthy; selected by Colorado with the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, he has 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 games, and has scored at least 25 goals four times, including 30 in 51 games in 2021-22, his last season on the ice.
He also has 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 69 playoff games.
Landeskog's presence Thursday, however limited, made a huge impression on his Avalanche teammates.
"It's super exciting," goalie Alexandar Georgiev said. "We're all excited for him to get back on the ice. I think he skated with us once as well during last season, at some point (when he was out). I remember he was coming down on me for the first shot and the whole team was like 'Ooooh.' It was special. So, it's super fun. I hope he feels good. Hopefully he starts coming on the ice more and more now.
"He's such a good leader, just awesome. He feels comfortable just talking to guys separately, always encouraging. He texts me once in a while like, 'Great game,' and you feel that support as he's got your back. I feel he has a good read on the room, too. How the team is doing, how the mood of the team is. So, he's awesome and [we're] excited to have him more and more around us."
Forward Fredrik Olofsson agreed.
"It's fun to see him out there, even if it's just baby steps for him," Olofsson said, "I mean, it's just awesome having him around, and then on the ice, too, he brings such energy. He's approachable, easy to talk to. So, we love having him around, and he's captain for a reason. Just kind of seems to come naturally. So awesome to see him on the ice.
"He still very much feels a part of the team. Being hurt and out is never fun. I think it's easy to feel isolated and feel like you're not. But I mean, with him, with his history here and everything ... Like I grew up watching him dominate, and wasn't long ago he was doing that and it won't be long until he'll doing it again."
Despite missing its captain all of last season, Colorado won the Central Division with a 51-24-7 record, but lost to the Seattle Kraken in seven games in the Western Conference First Round. This season, the Avalanche (27-12-3) are in second place in the Central, three points behind the Winnipeg Jets.
And though there is a long way to go in Landeskog's road to recovery, Bednar said there is reason to feel optimistic.
"Oh yeah. I think it's different because he's gone through the surgery and he's gotten prepared," Bednar said. "I think there's probably a little bit more uncertainty last year. You're going to try and avoid a major surgery like that at all costs. So the first step was to do everything you can possibly do and try to return to skate, and it made great progress. But it just plateaued at a certain level that wasn't good enough to be able to come back and play short-term or long-term. So then the next step was the surgery that he decided to have.
"So, I'd say there's more optimism this time around because it's been surgically repaired."
NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report
