Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog fell short at the 2026 Olympics in Milan in terms of earning a medal with Team Sweden. Though most of the Avs’ attendees are going home with one of the three tiers of medals, it still stings for the captain and everybody who was rooting for him to be able to have one placed over his head during the ceremony.
Landeskog played in five game during the tournament, recording two goals and two assists with 14 shots on goal. He finished with a +3 and had one power play goal and a game-winning goal.
While he has won a Stanley Cup and was the 2011-12 Calder Cup recipient, perhaps the biggest accomplishment is the comeback from a bad knee injury that kept him out of game action for three years. He never gave up his dream of returning. He worked every single day to give him the best chance at a return, though it was never a guarantee. That’s the determination I love to see.
Now, one of the things that frustrates me is that the Olympics are every four years. I get it. That duration you have to wait makes the events that more exciting as opposed to having it every single year. Landeskog, along with other NHLers, were forbidden by the NHL to go to the Olympics in 2022 because of the COVID situation that was taking place at the time.
Gabriel Landeskog might have one more Olympic appearance in him
Now, this comes down to a couple of things. For one, will Sweden be part of the 2030 Olympic Games? Secondly, will Landeskog still be up for the task of participating in these games? Thirdly, will his health all be there?
Those three things are something to think about, but it is impossible to know how he will feel at that stage of his career. Plus, it’s unfair to speculate given all that he has gone through.
I think the fire will still be burning inside Landeskog at that time. The hunger he has, following an Olympic tournament where he didn’t earn a medal, is likely to still be there. The loss left a bad taste in the mouths of every player who went home without a medal. That’s what competition does to you.
I’m not the only one who would love to see Landeskog back in the Olympics. He was welcomed back to the NHL (and welcomed into the AHL) when he returned to the ice. He will be welcomed back with open arms to the Winter Olympics if Sweden is one of the teams that takes part in it in 2030.