It had to be the most anticipated return from an injury for the Colorado Avalanche in recent memory. Everyone celebrated Captain Gabriel Landeskog’s return with joy and emotion. We all know the story by now. The knee injury led all the way back to the Edmonton Bubble when he was playing against Dallas. Landeskog took a skate blade to the leg from teammate Cale Makar, and it snowballed from there. Several surgeries later and three seasons missed, Landeskog returned to a hero’s welcome in Loveland.

The anticipation built as Landeskog started making more appearances with the Avalanche at morning skates in the second half of the season. At first it was just casual, taking it slow and for part of practice. The captain slowly built up his strength and stayed longer during practices. Then the day came that every Avalanche fan had been waiting for; the team assigned him to the Colorado Eagles for a conditioning assignment.

With The Colorado Eagles

Landeskog spent six days with the Eagles, where he drew much-deserved hype for the AHL affiliate of the Avalanche. The secondary market saw people selling tickets to his expected games for over two thousand dollars. And the price was worth the admission. Landeskog played in two games for the Eagles against the Henderson Silver Knights (VGK) on April 11th and 12th. He didn’t expect to do much in Game One when he got back to game speed. He made contact and started throwing hits as he got more comfortable. Landeskog even tried to get himself in a scrum, ripping off a Silver Knights’ helmet.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Landeskog said. “And envisioning this, and envisioning being in a competitive hockey game again, and obviously there were times where I didn’t know if that was ever going to happen, so it felt great being in the battle again. And, you know, on the bench, in the room, on the ice, you know all the nuances of a hockey game, it’s really fun being back. Yeah, I can’t say enough about obviously, the support I felt from people all over the place, and the Avs organization throughout this whole thing, but the Eagles and Martin Lind and the organization that he’s run here, and the fans for welcoming me with open arms. You know, it means a lot.”

Game Two is where Landeskog opened up. He started on the top line, and the crowd greeted him with deafening cheers once more. Fans saw the classic Landeskog they were used to. The Swede crashed the crease and set screens in front of the goalie. The Avalanche captain propelled a two-goal comeback in the third period to tie the game with his first AHL assist on a John Ludvig goal. Less than three minutes later, Jake Wise took a shot and Landeskog tipped it in for his first professional goal in three years. The Eagles would win the game in overtime, with Landeskog receiving first star honors.

“It really feels great,” Landeskog said. “I think the most fun part isn’t necessarily scoring a goal or getting on the score sheet. It’s just being a part of that atmosphere and being a part of a tight hockey game, competitive, getting to compete again, and having the trust of the coach to put you back on the ice, and just wanting to make a difference and feeling the crowd behind you. I mean, there’s nothing like it, so I missed it, and tonight I got to take part in it again.”

With The Colorado Avalanche

It would not be until Game Three of the Dallas Stars series that Landeskog would make his NHL season debut. A roaring Ball Arena welcomed him home with chants of “Landy! Landy! Landy!” His first game opened up with a massive hit against former teammate Mikko Rantanen. But it was another test, to see if he could handle the speed and physical game of the NHL. He showed everyone that he could and played in every game after that. Landeskog netted a beautiful goal on a drop pass from Brock Nelson in Game Four and the loudest cheers ever at Ball Arena. He finished the playoffs adding three assists onto that.

Landeskog showed his knee could be up to the challenge of NHL hockey once again. In the docuseries “A Clean Sheet,” he mentions he would like to be an everyday player once again. The docuseries took fans through the three-year rehabilitation process that he had to fight through, including the setbacks. The captain has four more years left on his contract, after which he will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2029.

Gabriel Landeskog Interview April 11, 2025

Gabriel Landeskog Interview April 12, 2025