It was a moment nearly three years in the making. Gabriel Landeskog, the captain of the Colorado Avalanche, stepped on the ice in an NHL game Wednesday night, April 23, for the first time since June 2022.
What kind of reception did Landeskog get?
During pregame introductions, the ovation for Landeskog was as loud as any game-winning goal. As it turns out, it was the loudest the building got all night. Colorado lost to the Dallas Stars 2-1 in overtime, but there’s no debating how big a win the night was for Landeskog.
“I’m just blessed and very fortunate to be in a position to feel those feelings and to feel, I don’t know, really what exactly was going through my body and mind at that time,” Landeskog said during post-game interviews. ”It was pretty special, and I mean, that’s a memory for life.”
Why was the Avalanche captain sidelined so long?
Wednesday night marked 1,032 days since the 32-year-old Swede hoisted the Stanley Cup and celebrated with his Avalanche teammates. He played on an injured knee back then, but no one knew it would be his last time on the ice. Several setbacks in his recovery eventually led to a cartilage transplant in his right knee. Until now, no player has ever returned to the NHL from that type of reconstructive surgery. In the past week, he played in two minor league games to get ready for his return.
“I felt pretty good. Speed wise, legs, physically, I felt good,” Landeskog said. “You know, still my third game, so I got a lot of things to improve on and just timing and seeing things, seeing the right plays, executing them.”
His coach, Jared Bednar, agreed, saying there is no way to measure what it means to have the team captain back in the locker room. On the ice, Landeskog is an extension of the coach.
“It was great to have him back. I thought the building was incredible, like right from the start of the game,” Bednar said. “The energy, they embraced him coming back, as they should. It was great to see. I was pleasantly surprised with the poise he showed with the puck and being able to make plays. It’s happening fast. There’s not a lot of room. But he looked pretty relaxed and made a lot of plays for us tonight.”
What’s next for Landeskog and the Avalanche?
What lies ahead for the man they call “Landy” is unknown. Will he return to being the force on the ice he was before the injury? How long will his rebuilt knee hold up? Only time will tell, but as his four and five-year-old kids held up signs saying how proud they were of their father, all the pain, rehab and recovery was worth it.
“That was as close I got to losing it during warm-up was when I looked over at them and seeing their big smiling faces,” Landeskog said. “So, it was very special. You know, I think they’ve probably been thinking that I’ve been lying this whole time that I do play hockey. I really do.”
Landeskog and the Avs are down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series to the Dallas Stars, with their next matchup coming Saturday, April 26, in Denver. It’s a must-win game if they have any realistic hope of extending their season past the first round.
The NHL playoffs continue Thursday night, April 24, with four games on the schedule, including the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators and the Battle of Florida between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
