One of the biggest stories of the Colorado Avalanche is the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog. While there was outside hope early on in the year that he could come back from his severe knee injury during the regular season, it became evident that he wouldn’t be able to, not because he wasn’t healthy (he still might not be), but because salary cap restrictions just wouldn’t alallow it to happen—especially following the trade deadline.
With the 2024-25 playoffs starting in just a couple of weeks, word is spreading about Landeskog being ready at some point in the postseason. Whether that is for Game 1 (most likely against the Dallas Stars) or a bit later down the road, at least one teammate of Landeskog believes that he will make his return to the lineup soon.
Erik Johnson tells @NHL_On_TNT that "it's a matter of 'when' not 'if' anymore" for Gabriel Landeskog's return to the @Avalanche lineup. 👀
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 3, 2025
"We're excited for him to get back on the ice. I know he's put in a lot of work, time, money, resources, everything. We're pulling for him." pic.twitter.com/aveKNAWLzr
This is pretty much the biggest update we have heard from anybody in the organization. Head coach Jared Bednar has been hush hush for the most part regarding a potential Landeskog return, and Landeskog himself said in the past several times that he doesn’t want to set return goal dates as to not get himself discouraged if he isn’t healthy enough by the date he sets the goal for.
Colorado Avalanche’s plan(s) for Gabriel Landeskog once he officially returns
For me, putting Landeskog on the fourth line to jumpstart his official return probably makes the most sense to me. While we obviously want to see him on a first or second line, the truth is that we just haven’t seen hm play in what will officially be three years. It’s not like he’ll for sure return to what he once was. In fact, I feel like that expectation is a complete pipe dream.
It might be ideal to see Landeskog play a few games with the Colorado Eagles to het his feet wet again. The great thing about this whole situation is that there is no salary cap during the playoffs. It would be an easy way to see if he can be in game shape for the long haul. He has been taking some hits in practice but they obviously aren’t too aggressive. The last thing you want is for him to get hurt in a practice.
His return could also come in the second round of the playoffs, if the Avalanche get there. The thing is that we don’t actually know his official status, so making an educated guess on his potential return becomes very difficult. It’s all speculation from people on the outside. I think Bednar, the coaches, and doctors have a goal in mind.
For now, it remains a waiting game.