The hockey world is still in shock over Gabriel Landeskog’s return after missing three full regular seasons with a knee injury. The Avalanche officially welcomed him back on Tuesday with open arms, no matter when he plays his first game.
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Landeskog had a stint with the AHL Colorado Eagles, playing in two games on April 11 and 12. He did not get on the scoreboard in his first professional game since he hoisted the Stanley Cup on June 26, 2022, but it was an exhilarating experience for the 32-year-old forward.
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“Feel great. Obviously some nerves going into it … physically, I feel great. It’s the first game in a long time, so I got plenty of things to work on and get better at, but it was a lot of fun,” Landeskog said.
He played the next night at Blue Arena and scored a goal and an assist in the Eagles’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Henderson Silver Knights.
Nathan MacKinnon watched his teammate’s return to the ice along with Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Ross Colton and Josh Manson.
“Brings joy to everybody to see him play. It’s a lot of fun. He looks great out there,” MacKinnon said. “It was awesome. I don’t know what to expect, obviously, but I thought every shift he looked better. Game two, he looked a lot better as well. He almost played 20 minutes or something like that. So, yeah, he’s in a good spot. Hopefully, he can keep progressing, and we’ll have him back here this weekend.”
The captain rejoined his team on Tuesday for an optional practice. It was a light skate, ending with him shooting pucks with MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin. While he is nearly physically good to go, being mentally ready is another challenge.
“It’s been a work in progress. Just like anything, you’re working on your physical abilities and your rehab, but also trying to stay sharp mentally. And how do I put this so it makes sense — you’re always trying to get better in all areas,” Landeskog said after his first game with the Eagles. “And for me, knowing that I missed time and knowing that there’s been ups and downs and a bit of a roller coaster, I’ve obviously had to put work into myself, my mental game, my emotional side of things, and the spiritual side of things.”
It’s been a long road for the elite Swede to get to where he is now. As he said, there is still work to do, but his teammates are thrilled to have him back in the locker room on a regular basis.
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“It’s been a long road. So for everybody, back-to-back down there and feel good. It’s nice to see, and it’s got to be rewarding,” Drouin said. “I saw the work for a year and a half now, almost two years. So every day is the same, and it’s got to be hard and definitely rewarding.”
Landeskog’s return is not only an emotional lift for the team right before the playoffs, but also an offensive one as well. For now, he remains day-to-day.
“It’s exciting for us, because it may give us another option here when we get to the weekend and start playing playoff games,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “So see how he responds this week and see how it all goes. But to have another player of his caliber possibly being ready to go is only a positive one from my mind.”
It will be a game-day call for Bednar whether or not he’s in the lineup. He did not participate in heavy drills at Wednesday’s practice, which is not necessarily a reflection of his physical status.
“The conditioning part is going to be a work in progress, right? He’s just now starting to, as you saw, he was on the ice today, in practice, and that should only improve as we dig in,” Avs GM Chris MacFarland said. “Practice time is like gold, the last six, seven weeks of the season. What that afforded him was some consistent, day-to-day ice that we weren’t able to give him here. But I thought it was really good to see him on the ice, obviously, and a successful weekend, for sure.”
The Avs practice on Friday before flying to Dallas to face the Stars in Round 1/Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. Puck drop is expected to be after 6:30 p.m. MT.
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