Latest report on Gabriel Landeskog has two way different scenarios

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could return for the playoffs this year.

Or, he might not ever skate in an NHL game again.

These two wildly different scenarios come from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, after she spoke with Avs GM Chris MacFarland last week. For the optimists out there, the report is great news: Landeskog may be back on the ice in time for the postseason. Colorado is “cautiously optimistic” that can happen.

For the pessimists, well, one setback and Landeskog is back to square one and the drastic surgery he underwent last spring, a knee cartilage transplant, must be redone. That’s according to MacFarland via Kaplan’s reporting.

No NHL player has ever come back from the procedure Landeskog opted to undergo, but he was desperate. He hasn’t played in a game since the Avalanche beat the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup in 2022. He missed all of last year and will miss this entire regular season as well. The playoffs are the best-case scenario.

Kaplan also reports Landeskog is spending most of his time in Toronto undergoing rehab. He doesn’t want to take away resources from Avalanche players undergoing minor rehab to try to get ready for the next game. It’s an unselfish move from Landeskog, with a great view of the big picture.

Kaplan writes that “Landeskog’s career hangs in the balance,” something that any Avalanche fan already knew. When he held an emotional press conference in April before the playoffs, many wondered if he was retiring. That wasn’t the case, but it also doesn’t mean he’ll play again.

For now, the Avalanche are rolling without their captain. They’re 6-0-0 to start the year and just made NHL history, winning a 15th consecutive regular season road game.

But the postseason is a different animal, and the Avs and Landeskog know that. If they want to win their second Cup in three years, the odds are a lot better with No. 92 on the ice.

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