Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog gives best update yet on his injury

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog provided the best news yet about his injury recovery on Wednesday.

Landeskog was playing in the BMW Championship Pro-Am at Castle Pines ahead of the PGA Tour event there this weekend. Landeskog walked all 18 holes, a good sign for his surgically repaired knee that caused him to miss the last two full NHL seasons.

Landeskog continues to rehab a knee that went under cartilage transplant surgery in May of 2023, the latest in a number of procedures. And. when he met with the media in May of 2024, Landeskog announced he wasn’t retiring, but didn’t have a firm timeline on getting back. He said half jokingly it’d be some time between mid-September and April.

Well, now Landeskog is doubling down on that, saying there’s not much doubt in his mind he’ll play in the NHL again.

#Avs Gabe Landeskog felt good after walking 18 holes at Castle Pines. The captain is encouraged that he will be able to return to the team,
"It's not so much if, it's when." pic.twitter.com/3bE7V2nSKD

— Arran Andersen (@arranandersen) August 21, 2024

The Denver Post’s Corey Masisak reports Landeskog will meet with the team to come up with a plan before training camp opens next month. Masisak also tweeted that Landeskog “told at least one fan on the course he’ll definitely play this year – not sure if it’s Game 1 or 10 or 20.”

This is all great news for the captain, who hasn’t skated in a game since the Avalanche hoisted the Stanley Cup in June of 2022 after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

It’s been a long road back, but it feels like Landeskog is as close as ever. He also showed his golf game is still strong, sinking a nice putt on Wednesday in front of one of his playing partners in Avalanche owner Josh Kroenke.