Fair or not, Avalanche desperately need Gabriel Landeskog back

The Colorado Avalanche are missing Gabriel Landeskog right now in more ways than one.

The team’s captain hasn’t played in an NHL game since the summer of 2022, hoisting the Stanley Cup after a gritty 20-game postseason in which Landeskog probably shouldn’t have even been on the ice.

He came back from a knee surgery to admirably play for a championship, and hasn’t been right since. The journey has included multiple more surgeries, and he missed all of last year and hasn’t played this season.

Let’s get one thing out the way: what Landeskog is doing to try to return is remarkable. Many guys may have just retired. No hockey player has ever come back from the risky knee cartilage transplant, and if Landeskog can pull this off, it’d be remarkable.

He was spotted skating about a month ago, and has been on the ice a few times since. Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland isn’t ruling out a potential return for the postseason, and boy does Colorado need Landy. In fact, it feels like the Avs have no shot to win their second Stanley Cup in three years without him. Fair or not, head coach Jared Bednar has to be desperate to get Landeskog back on the ice and back in the locker room.

The All-Star break was not at a good time for the Avalanche. They went 7-2 in their final nine games heading into the break, Nathan MacKinnon was running away with the Hart Trophy and earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference felt like a realistic goal.

And while all that is still possible, this road-trip so far has been an absolute dud. The Avs are 0-3-1 and have lost three straight games. They got outscored by New Jersey, Carolina and Florida by a combined score of 14-5. MacKinnon, shockingly, didn’t have a point in any of the three games. For perspective, he’s tallied at least one in every game at Ball Arena this season.

This slump is by no means the fault of MacKinnon. He’s been carrying Colorado on his torrid scoring pace. But even the best player in the world needs help, and that’s where Landeskog would come in.

First, he’d motivate his teammates to not take games off. The Avalanche right now look like they’re still on vacation in Mexico, not in the thick off a playoff chase. And second, Landeskog can still play. Don’t forget in the 20 playoff games in the summer of 2022 he had 11 goals and 11 assists. The 22 points were fourth on the team, trailing only stars Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon.

Winger Valeri Nichushkin is still away from the team in the Player Assistance Program, trying to get his issues addressed “once and for all.” He missed five playoff games against the Kraken last year after disappearing from the team in Seattle, and very much hurt Colorado’s chances to repeat as champions. Hopefully he’ll be back soon.

Nichushkin would definitely provide a lift, but getting Landeskog back in the lineup would be a boost no one can imagine. Seeing him grind all the way back from an exhausting journey would provide every guy in the locker room with a massive amount of motivation. If Landeskog can go, what’s your excuse?

One tough stretch doesn’t take away from the fact the Avalanche are having another very good season. But it’s also showing the holes this team has, and that’s the need for another top-6 forward and some leadership. MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen are all phenomenal players, but none scream “captain” like No. 92 does.

Championship windows shut quickly in sports. And no one knows how much longer the Avalanche’s will stay open. If there’s any chance at all for Gabriel Landeskog to play hockey this season, hopefully he seizes the opportunity and makes it happen. Because Colorado desperately needs him back.