Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog takes big step, will travel and skate with team

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog might be returning this season after all.

While GM Chris MacFarland recently made it sound like that might not be the case, there’s a glimmer of hope. Landeskog skated pretty hard with his teammates at practice on Monday, and is now taking another big step.

Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters after practice he’s going to travel with the Avs and also skate with them on this upcoming road trip and the rest of the season.

First, here’s the video of Landeskog skating on Monday that’s getting a lot of attention, followed by the quote from Bednar that is the biggest reason for optimism in quite some time.

Landeskog is running through drills. Looks pretty good. pic.twitter.com/B7ntoD5Sws

— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) March 17, 2025

#GoavsGo head coach Jared Bednar said Gabe Landeskog and Josh Manson will travel with the team. Neither are expected to play but “we're going to start traveling here, we don't have many road trips left, so we'll bring everybody that's able to skate or do anything.”

— Colleen Flynn (@CHNFlynn) March 17, 2025

Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played in a game for the Avalanche since the team won the Stanley Cup in the summer of 2022. He had cartilage replacement surgery on his knee in 2023 and has been battling to get back on the ice ever since.

Landeskog recently said a lot of guys in his shoes would’ve retired by now, but the Colorado captain still desperately wants to get back out there with his team. His recovery is being shown in a new docuseries, and a perfect ending would be Landeskog joining the team for the playoffs.

Again, nothing is official at this point, and we still don’t know if a return is going to happen. But getting to practice with the team, especially on the road, shows that Bednar and the Avalanche believe there’s a chance.

The postseason is slated to start around April 19, so Gabriel Landeskog has about a month to figure out if this can become a reality. Stay tuned.

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